Just as a household falls apart without emotional labor, so does politics grind to a halt if no one is actually listening to one another or reading the briefings or making plans that have a chance of working.

I’m not jealous of my male colleagues often, but I am when it comes to how they can just shower, shave, put on a suit, and be ready to go. The few times I’ve gone out in public without makeup, it’s made the news. So I sigh and keep getting back in that chair, and dream of a future in which women in the public eye don’t need to wear makeup if they don’t want to and no one cares either way.

I sigh, and keep getting back in that chair and dream of a future in which women in the public eye don’t need to wear makeup if they don’t want to, and no one cares either way.

It turned out that my work on so-called women's and children's issues prepared me for nearly everything else I've ever done.