Pint-Sized 'Temps' Flood Workplaces Across Nation

(April 22) -- Not all of the 18 million kids who headed off to work with their parents or other adults today were quite as lucky as Mary Shannon Snellings.

The 12-year-old had lunch on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's balcony, overlooking the National Mall, before going across the street to meet the chief justice of the United States, John Roberts. Neither Reid nor Roberts, though, could compete with Nina, a Capitol Police dog whom Mary Shannon and more than a dozen young people from Louisiana met during a session where they learned all about bomb-sniffing canines.

Of course, Mary Shannon -- who was participating in one of the 3 million Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day programs nationwide -- isn't your run-of-the-mill seventh-grader. Her mom is U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, who sponsored the resolution decreeing the annual take-your-kid-to-work day and runs her own annual program for kids from her state.

This year's day, with 18 million kids and 17 million adults involved, has come a long way from the first one, which was launched by Gloria Steinem in 1993, according to George McKecuen of the Ms. Foundation.

Girls were falling behind in school, and women were paid less in the workplace. The program -- just for girls then -- was designed to help them understand where their parents worked and inspire them. "The most important thing is youth can connect what they are learning in school and the workplace," McKecuen said.

The program took off in popularity, and boys were included starting in 2004. Even last year, with the economy suffering, companies clung to the program as a morale booster, he said.

Cynthia Ingols, associate professor of management at Simmons College in Boston, whose MBA program is designed for women, said the program is a great way for children to visualize where their parents are all day. "It reduces that distance between the two worlds -- the workplace ... and home."

Girls and women are doing better in school, colleges and the workplace than when the program began, she said, but still lag behind men in earnings. The annual day at work provides role models for girls and helps kids of both genders start to think about "who they are and what they want to do in the work part of their life."

The Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day programs range from informal small ones to massive corporate operations. MetLife had 1,500 kids involved last year, for instance.

At the U.S. Agency for International Development, 100 kids were "sworn in" by administrator Rajiv Shah and even promised to "obey the rules, listen to the presenters and learn more about making the world a better place." The kids broke into smaller groups for exercises like treasure hunts and pop quizzes on what to pack for an international aid trip, said spokeswoman Lynne Weil.

"The kids had a rich opportunity to not only understand what their parents do every day but also about the importance of USAID's mission and the importance of public service, which is often undervalued by the young," Weil said.

For her part, Mary Shannon said she's not planning on a career of her own in public service, which is sort of her family business. (Her uncle, Mitch, is mayor of New Orleans and her grandfather, Moon, is a former mayor and U.S. housing secretary.)

"I've lived around it my whole life. It kind of seems like people expect me to do that, and I don't normally do what people expect," she said. Mary Shannon is more interested in horses and surgery.

She sees more of her mother's office than most kids, since she lives close enough to walk over to the Capitol complex. But she did learn something new today, trailing her mom/senator around the Capitol with the other program participants.

"I learned that sometimes the reporters ... my mom says, sometimes they just come out of nowhere to ask questions," Mary Shannon said.