What's in a Name?

Since I have been thinking about names lately (my new baby, my blog and changing lifestyle), I paid attention to the bit of news I heard the other day, about recent studies done in Canada and Holland about the effects of women adopting their husband's name when they get married. Very interesting study indeed, and the information made me very happy that I kept my own surname.

The women that take their husband's name are perceived as much more stereotypically female, lower-educated, with more children and more traditional family values, who work less hours in non-management jobs. In a job interview situation, if the interviewer knew that a woman had taken the husband's name, they perceived their salary requirement at over a $1000 less than women who had kept their own name.

I was pretty stunned about this, but I guess I shouldn't have been. The world still sees women as submissive and to some extent as "property". Even though sometimes it is annoying that my children have a different last name from mine (my husband insisted that they have his name), I am still happy that I kept my own name, my own identity and better career development prospects.