Not allowing women to advance

I've been thinking about this for a while now, but I'm not sure how it will go as a blog post.

Anyways, here goes.

The week before our holiday in Scotland, C was the the UK for work. So I flew to Edinburgh with the kids, and he met us there.

To me this was the sensible thing to do: why waste money and time (and CO2 emissions) on unnecessary plane trips when I could perfectly well manage on my own? But several of the people C met with that week said their wives would never have allowed them to do the same.

Would not have allowed them?

Would not have allowed them??

I just can't get over this.

I understand not being able to fly alone with two little kids, and also not wanting to fly alone with two little kids. I have no problem if people in this situation choose, as a couple, to instead fly together as a family, with one party coming home from somewhere else to be able to do this. But the not allowing makes it sound as if the husband is getting away with something, or breaking some principle. And I just can't see what that something or that principle would be. It seems completely irrational. And also unfair.

I couldn't help but think of these women as controlling princesses, or else as wane 19th century type women who have to take themselves off for a lie down all the time and are never expected to be able to do anything for themselves.

And this got me thinking... is this type of behaviour in some women today setting us all back? The men C met with were all professionals, probably managers. Does having a wife who doesn't allow them to do perfectly sensible things if that means the woman has to do something by herself colour their view of women as a whole? Does it make them believe that women really are less capable, or else irrational and demanding? And does this consciously or unconsciously prevent them from giving female subordinates the same chances as male subordinates?

I know that there are other factors behind women not making up 50% of top management, and not being paid as much as men on average. And while I believe in equal rights, I'm not sure women will ever make 50% representation everywhere, at every level - being the ones that bear the babes is not something that's easy to get around, or even something that necessarily should be gotten around.

But still, if there's a lot of these not allowing wives and girlfriends, it can't be a good thing for women as a whole.

What do you think?