43. Learn: The history of motherhood and the challenges of working motherhood today

Published: Feb. 6, 2020, 2:08 p.m.

Alex here! When I heard Marti Bledsoe Post on the stage at Mother: The Summit talking about the history of motherhood, I immediately knew we needed to bring this conversation to our community. This episode is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I found myself often speechless as Marti discusses the "intensive parenting" era we are experiencing today, the fact that the U.S. is ranked 41st out of 41 developed countries in terms of family-friendly policies by UNICEF, and how the gender gap begins at home. In Marti's book Retrofit, she shares that The New York Times recently reported that girls do more chores than boys at home, girls make less allowance than boys, and girls are paid less for chores than boys. When learning this, are you surprised that research has found that women spend less time relaxing than men and that 65% of child care responsibilities are shouldered by working mothers compared to 35% by working fathers? We discuss solutions on how to make working motherhood work better for moms, their families, and their employers. You can find more about Marti and her book here: https://a-parently.com/