It all started when Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg said, "The most important career choice you'll make is who you marry." After pondering on it, the chief executive of the UK's Girls' Day School Trust Helen Fraser is now proposing that schools in the UK teach young girls how to be more selective in finding a life partner.
But this isn't about training women how to cook and clean. While speaking to a GDST conference in London, Fraser claimed that the biggest problem for women today is not the perennial "glass ceiling" but making the choice to have children. Not an easy choice to make, especially if you don't have a supportive spouse.
What she's proposing is that girls need to be educated about how to find a supportive partner who can help them realize the dream of having a fulfilling career and a family at the same time i.e. "having it all". From the Telegraph:
It's not just about finding a husband who does the Hoovering and makes the dinner. It's about finding one who really understands it is important for you to thrive and do well in whatever you choose to do. They should be cheerleaders and take pride in their wife's career as they do in their own.
Fraser believes that all women should be just as "ambitious" about relationships as we are in our careers. By picking the right person to share your life with, it makes it easier for you accomplish your own goals. While it's not totally clear how they plan to implement this in schools, but it certainly should be considered a priority along with teaching other life skills.
