{"id":1532,"date":"2009-07-13T23:34:31","date_gmt":"2009-07-14T04:34:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/?p=1532"},"modified":"2009-07-16T01:48:32","modified_gmt":"2009-07-16T06:48:32","slug":"is-jack-welch-politically-incorrect-or-just-incorrect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/2009\/07\/13\/is-jack-welch-politically-incorrect-or-just-incorrect\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Jack Welch Politically Incorrect or Just Incorrect?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jack Welch, ex-CEO of GE, online MBA namesake<\/a> <\/strong>{this Economist article is funny}, and policy critic<\/a><\/strong> is no stranger to controversy. \u00a0Here’s “Neutron” Jack<\/a><\/strong> warning of Obama running up deficits::<\/p>\n

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I have no problem with criticizing policy, but when it drifts from rhetoric towards potshots, my patience wears thin remarkably fast, regardless of the ideology. \u00a0Welch offered the curious advice of a “fake plan” after\u00a0revisions of the deficit came out<\/a> <\/strong>and Obama already responded to the news<\/a><\/strong>. \u00a0In my book, Welch isn’t offering analysis, but just stirring the pot and trying to seem relevant in the eye of the public.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to June 28, when\u00a0Welch offered up more controversy at a human resource management conference and was quoted in a Wall Street Journal<\/a><\/strong> article. \u00a0\u00a0Now, after his comments have gotten into the press, Welch is getting into a bit of hot water for statements he made on there not being such a thing as a work-life balance. \u00a0Welch said those taking time off for family won’t be there “in the clutch” and could be passed over for promotions.<\/p>\n

“We’d love to have more women moving up faster…But they’ve got to make the tough choices and know the consequences of each one.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to Welch, there is a consolation. \u00a0While you might not get to the top for trying the career-family balancing act, you can still have a nice career, nevertheless. \u00a0Some praised Welch for his bluntness, while others lambasted him for being “out of touch.”<\/p>\n

One comment on the article accused the WSJ of attempting to increase pageviews with inflammatory articles and another accused Welch of trying to peddle his book. \u00a0 The Twittersphere was abuzz<\/a> <\/strong>with\u00a0Welch’s statements, as of 7:12 EDT, with plenty of retweets of the article and quite a few naysayers. \u00a0Welch himself, who has a Twitter account<\/a><\/strong>, is in the hospital with a serious spinal infection, so don’t expect anything from him on the matter any time soon. \u00a0One Tweet called him a grumpy old man, as did a blog at The Conglomerate<\/a> <\/strong>{via Salon<\/a>}<\/span><\/strong>. \u00a0Grumpy or not, is he right?<\/p>\n

While his words might seem to apply to both men an women equally, the fact of the matter is that there are key perceptual gendered differences in organizations when it comes to family, bringing up a double-standard. \u00a0Scott Coltrane’s paper, “Elite Careers and Family Commitment: It’s (Still) about Gender,” makes this point clear::<\/p>\n