Since April, 1993, the Ms. Foundation for Women has
encouraged parents, grandparents, and other adults
willing to act as role models to work with businesses to
provide girls with firsthand knowledge of the work en-
vironment. In supporting Take Our Daughters to
Work Day, the foundation inspires businesses to go
beyond simply allowing girls to visit with their family
members at their place of employment. Businesses
are encouraged to provide events, speakers, and activ-
ities that stimulate girls to actively engage in their ed-
ucation and to willingly prepare for professional ca-
reers. The career education day is organized to focus
attention on girls as a means of fostering confidence
and boosting morale, to introduce businesses to the
next generation of employees, and to celebrate the
role of women in the workplace.
Take Our Daughters to Work Day quickly gained
popularity, but critics questioned the value of the
program. Some opponents believed that girls
should not miss a day of school to attend the festivi-
ties. Others concluded that not all girls had an op-
portunity to attend a program in a career area that
would demonstrate a positive, uplifting experience.
Challengers also argued that the program worked
well in business offices but was less effective for chil-
dren of blue-collar workers, particularly where safety
might be problematic. The greatest criticism came
from omitting boys from the day’s activities. As the
program grew, some enterprises and adult sponsors
began including sons in the event, too.
Impact Throughout the 1990’s, Take Our Daugh-
ters to Work Day grew to include millions of compa-
nies that welcomed girls’ participation. The pro-
gram was adopted in the United Kingdom in 1994.
As the program’s popularity rose, U.S. corporations
increasingly greeted more boys, but during the
1990’s, the Ms. Foundation for Women continued to
officially sponsor the event for girls. In April, 2003,
the foundation justified adding “and Sons” by deter-
mining that the inclusion of sons would help sup-
port a more balanced approach to work and family
life. The goal of including both girls and boys is to
help improve and endorse fairness and justice. The
program now focuses on strengthening connections
between work and school and enhancing child and
parent relationships.
Further Reading
American Association of University Women.Short-
changing Girls, Shortchanging America: A Nationwide
Poll to Assess Self Esteem, Educational Experiences, In-
terest in Math and Science, and Career Aspirations of
Girls and Boys Ages Nine to Fifteen. Annapolis Junc-
tion, Md.: Author, 1994.
Lewin, Tamar. “On Daughters-at-Work Day, Some
Are Including the Sons.”The New York Times, April
25, 1996, pp. A1, B11.
Quindlen, Anna. “Horrors! Girls with Gavels!”News-
week, April 15, 2002, 64.
Cynthia J. W. SvobodaSee also Business and the economy in the United
States; Employment in the United States; Women in
the workforce. Talk radio
Definition A broadcast format featuring opinion
on topical issues, sometimes from people
calling in to a program but mostly from the
program’s hostRadio talk shows proliferated in the 1990’s, with conserva-
tives dominating the vast majority of those dealing with po-
litical issues.Talk radio in the 1990’s took many forms, from me-
chanical advice (Car Talk) to ethical and moral ad-
vice (The Dr. Laura Show), tips on computer fixes
(The Kim Komando Show), love-life advice (Dr. Joy
Browne), and sexual innuendo (The Howard Stern
Show). Often when people referred to talk radio
during the decade, however, they meant the grow-
ing number of right-wing commentators who
sprang up in the wake of Rush Limbaugh. Lim-
baugh began broadcasting his politically conserva-
tive views on a Sacramento station in 1984 and then
had the idea of offering his show free to other sta-
tions. The show quickly spread throughout the
country. Others noted his success and did likewise,
creating an army of conservative call-in shows. The
number of stations broadcasting them passed a
thousand by 1995.Conservative Talk Show Domination The powers
that be took note of this trend. President George
H. W. Bush appeared on Limbaugh’s show during
his unsuccessful reelection campaign in 1992 against
Democratic challenger Bill Clinton. When Clinton
won, Limbaugh and his successors jumped on scan-832 Talk radio The Nineties in America