Excerpt from Book
A newspaper reporter told me that his wife used to be his boss before she quit to raise their two children. She now makes one-fourth of his salary, working as a part-time consultant. "It was her choice," he says. But mothers' choices are not made in a vacuum. They are made according to rules mothers didn't write. Married working mothers pay the highest taxes in the country on their earned income, which powerfully affects their choice of whether to work or not. And what many mothers really want is a good part-time job, yet there is no rich and vibrant part-time labor market in the United States. To most women choice is all about bad options and difficult decisions: your child or your profession; taking on the domestic chores or marital strife; a good night's sleep or time with your child; food on the table or your baby's safety; your right arm or your left.Main Description
In the pathbreaking tradition of Backlash and The Second Shift, this provocative book shows how mothers are systematically disadvantaged and made dependent by a society that exploits those who perform its most critical work. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and the most current research in economics, history, child development, and law, Ann Crittenden proves that although women have been liberated, mothers have not. The costs of motherhood are everywhere apparent. College-educated women pay a "mommy tax" of over a million dollars in lost income when they have a child. Family law deprives mothers of financial equality in marriage. Stay-at-home mothers and their work are left out of the GDP, the labor force, and the social safety net. With passion and clarity, Crittenden demonstrates that proper rewards for mothers' essential contributions would only enhance the general welfare. Bold, galvanizing, full of innovative solutions, The Price of Motherhood offers a much-needed accounting of the price that mothers pay for performing the most important job in the world.Publisher Fact Sheet
In this provocative book, award-winning economics journalist Ann Crittenden shows how mothers are systematically disadvantaged & made dependent by a society that exploits those who perform its most critical work. Drawing on hundreds of interviews around the country & the most current research in economics, history, child development, & law, she proves that although women have been liberated, mothers have not. The costs of motherhood are everywhere apparent. College-educated women pay a "mommy tax" of more than a million dollars in lost income when they have a child. Family law deprives mothers of financial equality in marriage. At-home mothers & their work are left out of the GDP, the labor force, & the social safety net. With passion & clarity, Crittenden demonstrates that proper recognition & reward for mothers' essential contributions would only enhance the welfare of all. Bold & galvanizing, full of innovative solutions, The Price of Motherhood offers a much-needed accounting of the price that mothers pay for performing the most important job in the world.Review Quote
"Written with a fine passion, The Price of Motherhood challenges the received ideas of economists, feminists and conservatives alike and ought to be read by all of them."-Paul Starr, The New York Times Book Review "A bracing call to arms...Crittenden rows against the ideological current and has the temerity to suggest a mind-blowingly sensible alteration of America's present parenting arrangements."-Ben Dickinson, Elle "Fascinating...shows how women have been consistently denied social and, more importantly, monetary equality for raising their families."-Susan Straight, Los Angeles Times "A scathing indictment of policies that cheat mothers...Crittenden turns out a fresh, persuasive argument. Sure to inspire vigorous debate."-Megan Rutherford, Time "Powerful and important"--The New York Times
In this provocative book, award-winning economics journalist Crittenden argues that although women have been liberated, mothers have not, and she offers a much-needed accounting of the price mothers pay to carry out society's most important job.
Ann Crittenden is the author of Killing Sacred Cows: Bold Ideas for a New Economy. A former reporter for the New York Times and a Pulitzer Prize nominee, she has also been a financial writer for Newsweek, a visiting lecturer at M.I.T. and Yale, and an economics commentator for CBS News. Her articles have appeared in Fortune, The Nation, Foreign Affairs, McCall's, and Working Woman, among others. She lives with her husband and son in Washington, D.C.