Amy B. (pureprarieleague) reviewed The Price of Motherhood: Why the Most Important Job in the World is Still the Least Valued on + 78 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Great Read, if your an economist. This book was mentioned in an article about reentering the work force after being a stay at home mom. It takes a very serious look at the economics of motherhood.
It is a good book just not an easy (toddler running around you) read.
It is a good book just not an easy (toddler running around you) read.
Kaarla V. (hestia74) reviewed The Price of Motherhood: Why the Most Important Job in the World is Still the Least Valued on + 11 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I had to read this book in small doses. The issues the author presents and the way she presents them are so infuriating and at the same time so depressing that I kept thinking I would have a heart attack and die if I read it in one sitting.
It is not that the book is badly written, or that the author doesn't know what she is talking about. As an economist,a financial writer, and a mother she clearly knows her turf. But the way she presents the issues makes any working mother (or even a SAHM with college education) feel as if she has the worst possible deal in the world. It doesn't make you stand up and become an activist. It just makes you wanna sit down and cry out for justice! And that's what I didn't like about the book. There's a risk while reading it too fast that you will start thinking about women in terms of victimhood, and not in terms of all that we could be capable of doing, IF WE HAD ADEQUATE SOCIAL SUPPORT.
The book is divided in 13 chapters plus a very short conclusion. She takes readers on a journey, starting at the present state of affairs for working mothers (2003), then goes back a few decades to expose the previous state of affairs, thus suggesting that the devaluation of "women's work" did not always exist, and the subtle changes in perception that gave way for that devaluation to occur. The rest of the chapters is a dissection of the different areas in women's lives that are affected by the "free ride" of society at the expense of the hard work mothers do without any kind of compensation. She gives specifics, as numbers, quantities, years, statistics, to prove her point.
I would recommend this book to any woman who works for a living, stays at home to care for the kids, and especially to policy makers and human resources specialists. Very important and eye-opening book.
It is not that the book is badly written, or that the author doesn't know what she is talking about. As an economist,a financial writer, and a mother she clearly knows her turf. But the way she presents the issues makes any working mother (or even a SAHM with college education) feel as if she has the worst possible deal in the world. It doesn't make you stand up and become an activist. It just makes you wanna sit down and cry out for justice! And that's what I didn't like about the book. There's a risk while reading it too fast that you will start thinking about women in terms of victimhood, and not in terms of all that we could be capable of doing, IF WE HAD ADEQUATE SOCIAL SUPPORT.
The book is divided in 13 chapters plus a very short conclusion. She takes readers on a journey, starting at the present state of affairs for working mothers (2003), then goes back a few decades to expose the previous state of affairs, thus suggesting that the devaluation of "women's work" did not always exist, and the subtle changes in perception that gave way for that devaluation to occur. The rest of the chapters is a dissection of the different areas in women's lives that are affected by the "free ride" of society at the expense of the hard work mothers do without any kind of compensation. She gives specifics, as numbers, quantities, years, statistics, to prove her point.
I would recommend this book to any woman who works for a living, stays at home to care for the kids, and especially to policy makers and human resources specialists. Very important and eye-opening book.
