The Equality Trap

by Mason,Mary Ann

• ISBN13: 9780765807403
• ISBN10: 0765807408
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2001-04-30
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Despite the feminist revolution of the past twenty years, most women in America are worse off today than at any time in the recent past. Magazines and television programs profile women bank executives, surgeons, and corporate lawyers, but the vast majority of women still work in relatively low-paying jobs. Women work more hours per week in the house and outside than ever before, and a paying job has become a necessity for women in most households.

What went wrong? In this provocative book, Mary Ann Mason argues that the women's movement shares some of the blame for this situation. In an original analysis that draws on both social and legal history, she explains how the move away from women's rights toward equal rights has worsened the situation of American working women, especially working mothers. Because women are still the primary care-providers for their children, they must take flexible and relatively low-paying jobs to be available in case of a child-care problem. With nearly 50 percent of all marriages now ending in divorce, and with a growing trend --

Author Biography

Mary Ann Mason is a professor of law and social welfare at the University of California. Berkeley. In addition to her law degree. Mason holds a Ph.D. in American social history

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Transaction Edition: The Equality Trap Re-visited	1	(10)
Introduction: The Birth of an Idea	11	(8)
The Equality Trap	19	(30)
No-Fault Divorce: The Egalitarian Triumph	49	(30)
Solomon's Solution: Joint Custody	79	(24)
Why Women Work	103	(20)
Why Women Earn Bottom Dollar	123	(22)
Women Who Live to Work	145	(26)
Women Who Work to Live	171	(34)
The Invisible Majority: Reentry and Part-Time Workers	205	(22)
Women's Rights and Women's Visions	227	(6)
Notes	233	(10)
Index	243