Typecast.

On this day in 1848, Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for his typewriting machine.  Although there had been typewriters before Sholes', his machine with a QWERTY keyboard was the first to become commercially successful, opening the way for improved communications and prospects for women in the workforce. 

No more hunting and pecking, but women still chafe at the mostly male upper tier of the pecking order.  This week Anne Marie Slaughter is the latest to step into the fray, expressing surprise that her big-time job at the State Department, which had her commuting between Washington and Princeton (where her husband and two sons, 10 and 12, were living) proved too taxing.  http://tinyurl.com/6m8bph5  The article got chattering classes chattering and  affluent women all in a lather, and I don't mean with Sephora's Soap & Glory Pulp Friction Foamy Fruity Body Scrub. Here's some chattering:  http://tinyurl.com/79k62a8