Collapsing Careers: How the Workplace Short-Changes Mothers

Contents......Page 6
Acknowledgements......Page 8
Introduction......Page 10
1 - How Jobs Happened......Page 14
How the ‘developed world’ developed jobs for women......Page 15
From chattels to chairs: birthing chairs to boardroom chairs......Page 20
The rise of the service economy......Page 25
How we’re adapting......Page 26
Moles in high places......Page 28
2 - Welcome to Work......Page 31
The place where equality goes wrong......Page 32
Flexibility......Page 34
‘Please have more children’......Page 36
The pay gap......Page 37
Who wants the money anyway?......Page 42
The glass and concrete ceilings......Page 44
Across Europe......Page 46
All this change: what has it meant?......Page 49
3 - Unjust Governments......Page 54
Would you bring up a family and work as an MP?......Page 58
Making change......Page 63
What women think governments need to do......Page 64
Welfare states worldwide and how they affect women in work......Page 68
Sponsored babies......Page 73
Back to the chopping board......Page 74
4 - Unjust Perceptions of Mothers......Page 76
Employers’ perceptions of mothers......Page 78
Cultural norms......Page 81
Employers talking......Page 83
Women as employers......Page 85
Good employers......Page 88
How colleagues see working mothers......Page 90
Our partner’s perceptions and predicament......Page 95
Young women’s perceptions and expectations......Page 99
And so … ?......Page 100
5 - What Mothers Have to Offer......Page 103
Male and female......Page 104
Women at the top......Page 106
What mothers bring......Page 108
6 - Is it Worth the Fight?......Page 114
The personal costs of working as well as having children......Page 122
So don’t have kids......Page 127
What working parents do to children......Page 130
What working does to a marriage......Page 132
The financial cost of having children......Page 133
Postponing children......Page 136
The costs of going back after a break......Page 138
7 - How to Balance Your Life......Page 143
The place where equality goes wrong......Page 146
Choosing a partner......Page 147
Get educated – in the right thing......Page 152
Limit your family......Page 157
Set the domestic agenda......Page 158
Set your skills agenda......Page 161
Get a community......Page 164
Try different ways of working......Page 166
The parenting timeline......Page 182
Regrets......Page 184
8 - What’s Next?......Page 186
How work’s still changing......Page 187
How demographics are forcing change......Page 189
Demographics and the ‘quantity’ of skills......Page 194
Manufacturing......Page 195
The changing nature of skills – a transforming workforce......Page 197
Family-friendly employers and what we think of our work......Page 202
But how many of us will they help? The not-for-profit sector......Page 208
How families are changing......Page 209
Sandwich bars......Page 214
How we’re changing......Page 216
A revised social structure......Page 219
The future......Page 222
9 - Changing the World......Page 225
What they want for us......Page 231
Creating a personal ‘Plan C’ – the way our minds work......Page 237
The way we act at home......Page 239
The way we act at work......Page 242
The way we’re supported......Page 243
Emotional postscripts......Page 244
The ‘F’-word......Page 245
Legislative and support structure for parents in the UK, February 2007......Page 248
Legislative and support structure for parents in the US, April 2007......Page 260
Legislative and support structure for parents in Australia, April 2007......Page 264
Endnotes......Page 270
About the Author......Page 286