by Leslie Morgan Steiner (Two Cents on Working Motherhood)
Katy Perry's summer smash hit, California Gurls trumpets bikinis, stilettos, sex on the beach and melting your "popsicle."
The song most definitely does not pay tribute to the daily accomplishments, responsibilities and triumphs of California's women over 21.
Perhaps it should.
California is home to 18 million women. Thirty percent of all businesses in California are owned by women. A UC Davis 2005 study of top executives showed that 10% of board seats and top executive positions are held by women.
Women run California - literally. Although only 17 of the 100 US Senators are women, both Senators from California are women - Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein. Boxer's challenger this November is a woman - former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. Another woman who made her fortune in California business, Meg Whitman from eBay, is running for governor of the state and has spent $139 million on her campaign. And of course, the richest female entertainers in the world call Los Angeles home, including Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Aniston, Renee Zellweger, Christina Aguilera, Cameron Diaz, Britney Spears, Judge Judy...and of course, Katy Perry herself.
--
Leslie Morgan Steiner authors Two Cents on Working Motherhood on MommyTracked. She is the editor of the best-selling anthology Mommy Wars and the memoir Crazy Love. Steiner is a frequent guest on the Today Show, MSNBC, and regularly contributes to The New York Times, Newsweek and Vanity Fair. She lives with her husband and 3 kids in Washington, DC.
