The Woman in the Big Chair Over at Fox

I was pleased to read about the promotion of Lucie Salhany to chairwoman of Fox Broadcasting Co., as I am to hear of any advancement of women into traditional male territory (“New Fox Chief Focuses on 7th-Night Expansion,� Jan. 9). My pleasure quickly turned to dismay when I read a quote from Salhany stating that “the reason these jobs are held by men is that they don’t have to blow-dry their hair for a half-hour every day.� OK, this was probably an offhand remark intended as a joke. I can take a joke.

However, when a reporter asked if she minded being treated like a woman and she replied that she did mind if it was before 6 p.m., I questioned why this distinction had to be made. What does “being treated like a woman� in an office situation mean?

Salhany further states that after 6 p.m. she goes “back to being a wife and mommy.� Why can a man be a man and a husband and father, all at once, but for women there must be a division, as if we must be two different people? Here’s a radical notion: Why can’t we all be treated like people?

LISA PATTEN

Los Angeles