The author of "When Work Doesn't Work Anymore: Women, Work, and Identity" understands the apparent irony.Elizabeth Perle McKenna held senior positions in publishing at Bantam, Prentice-Hall, Addison-Wesley and Morrow and yet she has written a book which in part points out how powerless women are to change working conditions.
"There is a myth about individual power," McKenna says from her Manhattan apartment. "The myth says one individual can change things, but that's not true. Changes at work must be systematic."
McKenna points with pride to the fact that she tried to give the people who worked for her -- "both men and women" -- flexibility and that she "tried to focus on what they were producing, instead of the hours they were putting in." But the changes did not extend company-wide.
In the conversation, it becomes clear that McKenna has no intention of again directly taking on the corporation any time soon. When asked what she will be doing next, she says: "After this publicity tour is over I'll be writing another book and be moving to Singapore. My husband has gotten a job there. We will be there for three years. It's so exciting."
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