What women want.

What Do Women Want?

Mel Gibson? No (from the "What Women Want" movie)

Des Moines? Yes

According to this Business Week's article, progressive companies and easier lifestyles are lurking women away from the coasts and into this mid-size Iowa city. As families continue to re-evaluate the right balance between work and family, and "at a time when skyrocketing home prices, the threat of terrorist attacks, and a half-an-hour a day of face time with the kids are high on working moms' worry list, Des Moines offers a growing number of them some unexpected peace of mind." What Do Women Want? Des Moines

The article notes the importance of achieving a "critical mass":

"this midsize city in a state that is the No. 1 producer of corn and hogs is surprisingly appealing to manager moms. In the Des Moines metropolitan area, 70% of families with children under six have both parents in the workforce, beating the big cities. The working mom as the demographic norm offers a détente in the cultural war that often erupts elsewhere between stay-at-home moms and those who work. The critical mass also means companies have little choice but to cater to women. Ernst & Young and Bankers Trust allow women to design their own work schedules. Meredith offers the chance to buy more vacation with pretax dollars. At Principal Financial Group Inc. (PFG ), where two-thirds of its 14,000 employees are women, nursing moms pump in deluxe lactation centers."