Unbending Gender: Why Family and
Work Conflict and What to Do About
It by Joan Williams
Impeccable Research, Very Readable
In Unbending Gender, Joan Williams takes a hard look at the state of
feminism in America. Concerned by what she finds--young women who
flatly refuse to identify themselves as feminists and working-class and
minority women who feel the movement hasnt addressed the issues that
dominate their daily lives--she outlines a new vision of feminism that calls
for workplaces focused on the needs of families and, in divorce cases,
recognition of the value of family work and its impact on womens earning
power.
Williams shows that workplaces are designed around mens bodies and
life patterns in ways that discriminate against women, and that the
work/family system that results is terrible for men, worse for women, and
worst of all for children. She proposes a set of practical policies and legal

initiatives to reorganize the two realms of work in employment and
households--so that men and women can lead healthier and more
productive personal and work lives. Williams introduces a new
reconstructive feminism that places class, race, and gender conflicts
among women at center stage. Her solution is an inclusive, family-friendly
feminism that supports both mothers and fathers as caregivers and as
workers.
Personal Review: Unbending Gender: Why Family and Work
Conflict and What to Do About It by Joan Williams
Now more than ever before, fathers and husbands (as well as uncles,
brothers, and sons) need to understand how and why so many women
experience so much stress when struggling to fulfill all manner of
traditional gender-specific obligations in combination with other obligations
related to the workplace. This same understanding is imperative for men
with whom these women associate in their workplace. I'm not saying
women's obligations are better or worse than those men have. But many of
them are significantly different. True, assignment of marital and parental
obligtions often has less to do with gender than with practicality. Of
necessity, some Baby Boomers and many Generation Xers have re-
defined concepts such as "partnering" and "division of labor." The process
of re-definition or refinement will accelerate with Generation Yers. One of
Williams' key points is that at work and in the home, indeed everywhere,
men and women must have the courage and (yes) the patience to
collaborate and accommodate in ways and to an extent which spouses
and parents never have before. Those unable to "bend" with appropriate
adjustment and (yes) with good will could well "break." Williams identifies
various major problems and their causes, then suggests how those
problems could be avoided or solved. You may not agree with all of her
opinions (fair enough) but I think you will agree that she addresses
important issues with care and concern. So must each of us.
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