Women money power The rise and fall of economic equality

Financial journalist Cox documents women's battle for financial independence. Based on interviews, research, and experience, she paints a picture of the scope of economic inequality in the United States. Historically, women were not allowed to own property, have a bank account, or take out loans. Women were paid less than men for performing the same tasks and fired for being pregnant. All these things, and more, limited women's financial freedom. Cox tells of Rosie the Riveters who filled industrial jobs, often fitting in smaller spaces than men, putting themselves in danger. She also delves into the history of the birth control pill, the first women who got jobs at the New York Stock Exchange, and those who created legislation to end discriminatory practices against women in the workplace. She then moves on to the challenges women currently face and the culture that continues to hold them back. Those who are interested in women's issues in the workplace or social justice will be drawn to this historic look at women and economic equality.

"Money and, by extension, power remain stubbornly gendered," according to this incisive debut history. Journalist Cox investigates American women's economic status from WWII through the present by telling stories of women "who dedicated their lives to female economic empowerment." The subjects include Anna Mae Krier, who assembled bomber planes during WWII and later successfully petitioned Congress for recognition of women's contributions to Allied victory; Margaret Sanger, whose fruitful efforts to create a birth control pill meant fewer women had to drop out of the workforce because of unplanned pregnancies; and U.S. Representative Shirley Chisholm, whose impassioned advocacy on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment still couldn't secure its passage. There's some jaw-dropping trivia ("It wasn't until 1988, and the Women's Business Ownership Act... that all women were able to get a business loan without a male cosigner"), and Cox makes depressingly clear how some ostensibly successful gender equality campaigns have actually been pyrrhic victories. For instance, she notes that the lawyer who represented Goodyear supervisor Lilly Ledbetter in an equal pay case against her employer (the Supreme Court ruled against her in 2007, but Congress named its 2009 Fair Pay Act after her) reports that businesses still routinely flout the law. It's a rousing testament to the achievements of women activists, and a damning indictment of how America has failed to protect their gains. Photos. Agent: Dan Mandel, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc. (Mar.)

A history of women's struggles for economic rights and financial freedom. Focusing on the period from World War II until the present, journalist and broadcaster Cox explores women's progress in the fight for economic equality. The author zeroes in on the personal and professional stories of those who were especially influential in this history, along with a look at "what ultimately went wrong; why, fifty and sixty years ago, progress seemed abundant with promise and why now, in 2024, it appears to have stalled so dramatically." A clear strength of the book is Cox's attention to the contributions of lesser-known figures in the liberation movement as she chronicles in revealing detail the significance of "unsung heroes" such as Alice Paul, Pauli Murray, Shirley Chisholm, Lindy Boggs, and Muriel Siebert. The author's commentary on Murray's life is particularly astute; she not only highlights her extraordinary achievements as an activist on behalf of women and people of color, but also illuminates the often intersecting goals and strategies of the feminist and Civil Rights movements. Cox persuasively argues that contemporary understandings of intersectionality are deeply indebted to Murray's work. Also memorable is the discussion of the development and wide-ranging impact of the birth control pill. The emergence of the pill at the beginning of the 1960s was the culmination of long-standing efforts on the political, legal, and scientific fronts to secure reproductive freedoms, and its economic ramifications were enormous. A major obstacle standing in the way of equality today, the author ultimately demonstrates, can be found in the striking gap between women's and men's pay across a range of professions. That gap, research shows, "has hardly budged for years." Cox offers an accessible and instructive overview of how money and power have intersected with gender in modern America. A vigorous, often inspiring account of women's quests for economic equality. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.