The New York Times-20080124-Mentors and Sisterhood- -Letter-
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Mentors and Sisterhood; [Letter]
To the Editor:
Re The New 'Old Boys'? (Generations column, regional sections, Jan. 20):
Unfortunately, Kate Stone Lombardi's evidence to suggest the evolution of a network where professional women help other women is more anecdotal than it is the norm.
I've worked in finance for 15 years and have never been able to identify a single reliable mentor or networking partner, and not for lack of trying.
To make matters worse, the majority of my thirtysomething friends and colleagues have opted to leave the work force to stay home with their children.
It seems that the generation of women who preceded my generation are either of the mind-set that nobody helped them break through the glass ceiling and so they can ignore any type of sisterhood, or they are just too exhausted trying to have it all that they simply have no time for mentoring.
In college I thought I could have any type of career I wanted. While I still believe that is true, I wish someone had explained to me the choices I'd be forced to make regarding work and family life, and how lonely it would feel at times.
Perhaps my mother was right, and I should have been a nurse or a teacher.
Laura Frey
Chatham, N.J., Jan. 21, 2008
