Equal partners : improving gender equality at home

Equal partners Improving gender equality at home

Kate Mangino

Book - 2022

"From gender expert and professional facilitator Kate Mangino comes Equal Partners, an informed guide about how we can all collectively work to undo harmful gender norms and create greater household equity. As American society shut down due to Covid, millions of women had to leave their jobs to take on full-time childcare. As the country opens back up, women continue to struggle to balance the demands of work and home life. Kate Mangino, a professional facilitator for twenty years, has written a comprehensive, practical guide for readers and their partners about gender norms and household balance. Yes, part of our gender problem is structural, and that requires policy change. But much of our gender problem is social, and that requires ...us to change. Quickly moving from diagnosis to solution, Equal Partners focuses on what we can do, everyday people living busy lives, to rewrite gender norms to support a balanced homelife so both partners have equal time for work, family, and self. Mangino adopts an interactive model, posing questions, and asking readers to assess their situations through guided lists and talking points. Equal Partners is broad in its definition of gender and gender roles. This is a book for all: straight, gay, trans, and non-binary, parents and grandparents, and friends, with the goal to help foster gender equality in readers' homes, with their partners, family and wider community"--

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Subjects
Sexual division of labor.
Sexism.
Sex role.
Equality.
Couples.
Homemakers.
Households.
Published
New York : St. Martin's Press 2022.
Language
English
Main Author
Kate Mangino (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
344 pages ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 327-333) and index.
ISBN
9781250276117
  • Introduction
  • Part 1. Acknowledging Inequality
  • 1. Our Modern Household Reality
  • 2. Socialized Inequality
  • 3. Inequality Without Kids
  • 4. Inequality with Kids
  • Part 2. What Equal Partners Look Like
  • 5. From King of the Castle to Equal Partner
  • 6. Toward Equal Partnership
  • 7. Embracing Equal Partnership
  • 8. The Next Generation of Equal Partners
  • Part 3. Living Gender Equality
  • 9. A More Equal Self
  • 10. A More Equal Community
  • Acknowledgments
  • Select Gender Glossary
  • Additional Resources
  • Notes
  • Index
Review by Booklist Review

Mangino, gender expert and professional facilitator, has written an inspiring and inclusive guide for rethinking and reworking household gender roles. The majority of American families are neotraditional, with both parents working but with the woman doing most of the household labor. This limits society, she explains, by harming women psychologically, preventing men from making emotional connections, and losing economic gains for families. Using interviews from forty couples who are participating in equal partnerships, Mangino offers a light at the end of the tunnel. The experiences of these couples show families that are challenging gender norms. Mangino addresses topics beyond dividing tasks at home: how to date with the express goal of picking a partner who will champion gender equality; parenting practices to counter gender tropes. Mangino's dedication to inclusivity is a path forward for writers, as she points out where inequality intersects with gender, emphasizing the added burden of structural racism for parents of color. She also talks about appropriate pronouns, includes same-sex partnerships in her interviews, and uses the terms "Female Role" and "Male Role" to better include all gender identities. An enlightening read that offers tangible methods for families and community members interested in dismantling the gender binary.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Gender consultant Mangino debuts with a thoughtful treatise on how to achieve parity in the division of household labor. Troubled by research findings that women in different-sex relationships contribute more to physical and emotional work around the home than their partners, Mangino provides "ideas, stories, interviews, and suggestions about what you can do to address household gender inequality with your partner." She studies 40 men who match their partners' contributions at home, noting that all are strong communicators, prioritize family time, and aren't afraid of vulnerability. Mangino proffers advice on how to build an equal partnership while dating, suggesting, for example, that "'the gender talk'... should be an ongoing dialogue" and that those in the "Female Role" (which, she notes, can be occupied by someone of any gender) should make sure their partner supports their career. Mangino's sharp insights into contemporary gender dynamics persuasively argue that there remains much to be done to achieve equality between partners (she reports, for instance, on research that found "working mothers today spend as many hours taking care of their children as stay-at-home mothers did in the 1970s"). The result is a vital manual for understanding how gender norms shape domestic life and how readers can change the script. (June)

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Review by Library Journal Review

Gender expert Mangino provides an informative examination of gender inequality in American households, plus practical solutions. Her focus is on gender norms and the social aspects of inequality rather than on structural policy issues that contribute to the problem. The book is divided into three sections, with the first two detailing background information on gender inequality and profiling 40 men who act as equal partners in their households. In the third section of the book, Mangino uses a questioning, interactive approach to ask readers to create an action plan for change that applies the lessons learned through the book's statistics, talking points, guided lists, scenarios, stories, and interviews. The book includes examples from a variety of household types and includes discussion of the effects of race, sexual orientation, and having children on gender inequality. Mangino also addresses the importance of family and community support. Her research is apparent through the many references throughout the text as well as in the supplemental additional resources list and chapter notes. The book includes a gender glossary and index. VERDICT An important purchase that will provide a variety of readers with an informative and actionable understanding of gender inequality in the United States today.--Theresa Muraski

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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