Ross Douthat, Helen Andrews, and Leah Libresco Sargeant sit down to discuss women in the workforce. New York Times, Nov 6, 2025.
Did women ruin the workplace? According to New York Times author Ross Douthat, this is one of the most gripping questions facing our society today. I personally think a better question would be: Did Ross Douthat ruin goatees for men? Did this guy make button-up tops uncool again? We readers clearly have a lot to grapple with. Now, to be entirely honest with you, I feel as though I have worked far too hard at singlehandedly ruining the workplace to share the credit with every other woman, but that is a burden that I, alone, must carry. In an attempt to address this question, I asked a few of the working women in my life.
“If women had never entered the workplace, what would we be living without today? The windshield wiper, Kevlar, dishwashers, the GPS, and the double helix structure of DNA. Or even the computer algorithm that allowed for Douthat’s commentary to be uploaded in the first place. I also think back to a lecture I was subjected to in a meeting with my former boss, who asserted that the world was a much better place when women stayed home to cook a hot meal for their husbands while he lectured the kids on the value of hard work. The irony of that situation, of course, was that I was working in my capacity as CFO at the time, with three daughters at home. I now own and run my own financial consulting business, which has successfully saved numerous colleges from bankruptcy, and all of my daughters are members of the workforce.” – R.M.
“Women and diverse voices from all identities bring essential insights, balance, and thoughtful perspectives to the workplace. Without this diversity of that thought and experience, workplaces risk missing out on the cultural intelligence that drives meaningful progress. Diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts are imperative. They strengthen organizations by ensuring a wider range of perspectives informs decision-making, helping to elevate corporate missions and achieve goals more effectively. Women did not ruin the workplace; they’re making the broken systems from which they were born better.” – Chanel Mazzone
“I mean, I don’t really give a hoot whether we ruined it or not. I’m still here.” – Olivia
To me, this all ties back into education. The actions that we take to shape the confidence of young girls and women in the very beginning of their lives make the largest difference in improving their career and professional outcomes. In many low-income areas in the US, girls are less likely to start public or private school due to poverty or distance to schools. In some communities in the Bible Belt, early marriage can lead to school dropout or irregular attendance. Women are already at such a disadvantage as compared to their male counterparts in pursuing careers, yet we still flourish in the workplace. Narratives like these from the New York Times, no matter how many times they reword the title, shape the confidence of young girls early on in their lives, discouraging them greatly from pursuing higher education and entering the workforce. If all it takes is a hardworking woman to ruin a workplace, it seems like it was a pretty weak establishment to begin with. That said, I’ll gladly continue ruining the workplace, comforted with the warm thoughts of the Spring Break vacation I’ll be taking with the wages I earned myself by working. And to Ross Douthat, I wish you education, self-reflection, and a hair transplant. Best of luck with that attitude.
