Mail Call.

What Do Today's Women Want?

Our Jan. 8 Special Report on Women of the New Century resonated with readers who were happy to see the subject covered. "Readers of the new millennium deserve more coverage of important social issues like this," applauded one. Others voiced age-old concerns. "The workplace is still dominated by men," lamented a reader who faulted obsolete gender roles. Another woman urged the "sharing of care for aging relatives." A single mother wrote, "I worry about getting food on the table."

The Global Woman

I was glad to read your Jan. 8 Special Report, "Women of the New Century." Women are fighting for equality, but many talented women do not have the courage to enter professional life because the workplace is still dominated by men. Our obsolete education system continues to propagate the old gender roles of a working father and a stay-at-home mother. With more and more young women rejecting these traditional roles and working hard to establish a career, the differences between men and women are starting to diminish. Our society needs to make a greater effort in encouraging young women to work and in stopping the disparagement of men who raise their children and do the housework.

Katherina Jekerle--Baunatal, Germany

As a mother of four children and a student of women's studies, I agree with Carla Power's assessment that European women are being affected by globalization in both positive and negative ways. I think there needs to be a greater emphasis on understanding gender roles. Although we have seen major improvements in recent years, the extent to which these improvements have helped working mothers raise children remains disappointing. To guarantee full and equal use of globalization's enormous potential, traditional attitudes toward the roles of men and women must change. A case in point is the sharing of care for aging relatives.

Petra Lutticke--Drolshagen, Germany