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Moms can do anything

The business press is aflutter with a Dow Industrials milestone that has little to do with stock prices: Hewlett-Packard has named Mrs. Carleton Fiorina as its chief executive officer, making her the first female CEO of a Dow idex company.

It is indeed a remarkable achievement, particularly at Mrs. Fiorina's relatively young age of 44, when most corporate employees figure they are doing well to reach middle ranks.

Yet in the tone of the celebratory coverage of her selection there is a bit of feminist snobbery, the idea that climbing the corporate ladder is the only pursuit worthy of a 1990s woman.

Women who choose to be, shall we say, chief operating officers of households also choose a worthy course in life, but seldom do they make headlines. And yet a typical stay-at-home Mom is responsible for children's health care, education, incredibly complex transportation logistics &emdash; and did we mention also serving, more often than not, as the "corporate chef"? Moms take on many varied and challenging roles, and unfortunately their achievements are not generally considered "newsworthy."

Moms must be content to receive hugs and kisses from husbands and kids, and to feel the joy of seeing a child succeed in whatever endeavor that child chooses &emdash; whether it be parenting or becoming CEO of a high-tech company.

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