Matt Lauer did a segment on the “Today Show” Wednesday on working moms, prompted by PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi’s remark on Monday that women can’t “have it all.”
During the show, Lauer continued to defend his question to General Motors CEO Mary Barra on whether or not she could do her job well and be a good mother, and he asked the Today Show crew to chime in.
“I always felt this is not a gender issue,” he said. “This is a human issue of work and life balance. It’s a parenting issue for men and women, moms and fathers — question I ask myself every single day. But clearly it still touches a nerve.”
Lauer brought on “working moms” Kathy Lee Gifford and Martha Stewart to discuss the topic, and he asked the Today Show panel whether the issue was still “taboo.”
The general consensus was that it was not, but that people take issue with the fact that men don’t get asked whether their jobs interfere with their ability to be good fathers.
Gifford said she was “surprised” that Lauer’s question to Barra was met with backlash.
“If a male CEO were to come out and say, ‘I am very upset I missed my son’s prom, and I think my kids will hold me accountable for one job and that is a father?'” Lauer replied. “Yes, we’d ask that question.”
Gifford defended Lauer, arguing that he was asking Barra a follow-up question after she had been asked something similar in an earlier interview.
“You said it very, very respectfully,” she added.
Watch the segment via NBC:
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[H/t Mediaite]
How would asking wealthy working moms what they think be a good way to answer this question. They can afford child support and domestic services.
How are the middle-class professionals making out? Or is that not “having it all”?
Matt, have you ever asked a dad how he balances working and taking care of the kids?
Bullshit. These shows have been in the business pumping out institutional sexism for as long as they’ve been on the air. They’ve always had their appeal primarily in stay-at-home women or working moms that are in a hurry to get out the door and have the TV on in the background for light-fare tripe as they get ready to rush out. Besides, he doesn’t ask male CEOs or rich guys the same question, EVER. And Giffords is the idiot you ask for confirmation of your asshattery? She’s a rightwing drunken nutjob from all I can tell.
Nice try, but total FAIL.
Clueless shits.
So in other words the segment was a huge circle jerk.