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The Price of Motherhood: Why the Most Important Job in the World is Still the Least Valued
by Ann Crittenden
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks (2002-01-01)
ISBN: 0805066195
EAN: 9780805066197
Dewy Decimal #: 306
Paperback: 336 pages
SKU: BX050-080203004
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comments: Clean and shiny. Light wear. Spine uncreased, pgs crisp, clean, tight, unmarked. No remainder mark.
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Editorial Reviews
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Amazon.com Review
Many mothers have long suspected that they're getting the short end of the deal--and finally, a highly respected economics journalist proves they're not just griping. Despite all the lip service given to the importance of motherhood, American mothers are not only not paid for all the work they do, but also penalized for it. "The gift of care can be both selfless and exploited," writes Ann Crittenden in this intrepid and groundbreaking work. Motherhood is dangerously undervalued--it's now the single biggest risk factor for poverty in old age. Mothers lose out in forgone income if they stay at home, an inflexible job market makes part-time work scarce or inadequately paid, and in the case of divorce, they're refused family assets by divorce laws that don't count their unpaid work. Crittenden is fond of pointing out the hypocrisies plaguing America, and one is the belief in a welfare state enabling single mothers. The true welfare state, she says, protects paid workers from unforeseen risks through social security, unemployment insurance, and workman's compensation. Mothers who work part-time or not at all have no such safety net and typically take a nosedive into poverty, along with their children, after divorce or the death of their spouse. Married working moms are also punished--they pay the highest taxes on earned income in America. Crittenden's impassioned argument is based on research in a variety of fields, from economics to child development to demography. She shows how mothers were demoted from an economic asset to dependents, why welfare for only a certain group of mothers bred bitterness among the rest, and why there is currently an exodus of highly trained women from the work force. Crittenden also travels far and wide for solutions. She finds them not only in such European nations as Sweden--which has abolished child poverty by giving mothers a year's paid leave, cash subsidies, and flexible work schedules--but in the U.S. military, which runs the best subsidized child-care program in the country and knows the value of providing special benefits to those who selflessly serve their country. Ultimately, Crittenden insists, the equality women have been fighting for will only be achieved when mothers are recognized as productive citizens creating a much-needed public good--human capital, or in layman's terms, well-raised children who grow into productive, law abiding citizens (and who pay into social security). This is an admirable--and charged--defense of motherhood, reminding us that unpaid female labor is "the priceless, invisible heart of the economy," and those who engage in this labor deserve the same rights, and the same respect, as other workers. --Lesley Reed
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Product Description
In the pathbreaking tradition of Backlash and The Second Shift, this provocative book shows how mothers are systematically disadvantaged and made dependent by a society that exploits those who perform its most critical work. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and the most current research in economics, history, child development, and law, Ann Crittenden proves that although women have been liberated, mothers have not.
The costs of motherhood are everywhere apparent. College-educated women pay a "mommy tax" of over a million dollars in lost income when they have a child. Family law deprives mothers of financial equality in marriage. Stay-at-home mothers and their work are left out of the GDP, the labor force, and the social safety net. With passion and clarity, Crittenden demonstrates that proper rewards for mothers' essential contributions would only enhance the general welfare.
Bold, galvanizing, full of innovative solutions, The Price of Motherhood offers a much-needed accounting of the price that mothers pay for performing the most important job in the world.
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Customer Reviews
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A Must-Read for Men and Women, With and Without Children, and Every Legislator, Policy-Maker, CEO and Business Owner
Rating  (5)
Date: 2007-10-30
Ann Crittenden's book is the seminal book on this topic. The Price of Motherhood is thoroughly researched and documented; it is a must-read. It contains a brief, and eye-opening, contextual history of motherhood in America, and its tenets should inform every debate and policy about child care, family leave, compensation in divorce and the relative poverty of women in old age. It should silence the vacant lip service this country gives to the importance of motherhood and upbringing of children. This is not a book only for women or mothers. It is for women and men, teens to retirees, policy makers, legislators, those with or without children, considering children, choosing not to have children, deciding how to combine work and children, raising others' children, teaching children or receiving social security payments funded by a generation of children raised after them, and those without partners or being cared for in their old age by a nurse, doctor, aide, or health care provider.
Reading this book will make you think, will open your eyes and your mind, and may make you angry and shocked at the lack of support for families in the U.S. which effects us all. This book does not advocate anything like a free ride for women with children.
American policy on child care, family leave and the compensation of PARENTS for parental leave (face it, both genders have children, but only one bears the cost) is appalling, embarrassing, and out of sync with the rest of the industrialized, civilized world. What many miss is that reform in this area will benefit all, not just those with children, because the economy is missing out on a huge labor and workforce talent pool in its mothers and at home parents.
Critics who insist that family leave and child care policy in the U.S. should remain unreformed, and parental leave should remain unpaid (as the vast majority of it is) because people choose to have children and therefore should bear the cost themselves, are not seeing the big picture or taking a long term look at the economics of that policy. It is not simply a matter of who pays for the leave itself. All women who leave the work force to have children and do not return, represent a loss to the economy, to the tax base, to the Social Security fund, to the productivity of businesses, and in cases of divorce or old age, to society at large. Reforming this policy will actually encourage women to return to work because it will be manageable, or enable those whose jobs did not pay enough to cover quality child care to do so. The fact that most Fortune 500 CEO's are male is no fluke; nor is the fact that over 80% of those CEO's have both children and at home wives, and suffered little or no disruption in their careers to have or raise their own children. Paid parental leave is good for business, good for families and good for society. Workers, including women, want to return to fulfiling, paid jobs in businesses that recognize their family and provide the flexibility and support necessary to get women AND MEN through the high-maintenance early child hood years.
Everyone pay taxes that are applied to many services from which not everyone benefits or certainly which do not benefit all equally. Our government is not an individualized pay per use system of services in any other area and should not be viewed as one with respect to the raising and education of its next generation of citizens, taxpayers and funders of social security and medicare funds. We all pay for firefighters, even if our own house never burns, we never need a rescue or never have a cat stuck in a tree. All property owners pay property taxes for public schools even if they have no children or send their children to private schools. We all have the benefit of public schools even if we don't own property and pay the taxes. We pay for law enforcement and criminal justice systems even if our children and families never commit a crime. We pay for trash and sewer and water service whether we are home or not. We pay for road maintenance even if we rarely drive or take a bus. We pay for public transit even if we never ride it. The argument that workers without children should not bear any of the cost of a society that depends on the future labor of children is short-sighted and based on false premises, and frankly places a less value on raising future citizens and workers than it does on trash removal.
I initially read a library copy of this book, and am purchasing it to own. In fact, I have told my husband that the only gift I want for Christmas is for him to read this book and discuss it with me. It's that important to educate men (and women) on this issue. My fifteen year old daughter will get her own copy to read next summer, and I think this book should be on the reading list of every high school in America. Every teenager should read and understand the issues presented here. If more young men and women truly understand the price of motherhood, the price of parenthood, from the beginning, maybe we can create a society of decision makers and couples who insist on systems where there is true equality and partnerships in marriage and child-rearing. When asked, a group of college students in the 1990's said the ideal arrangement would be one in which both parents return to work part-time after the birth of a child, and both remain engaged and involved in the raising of the children and the running of the household. Why have we not made more progress toward that ideal in this country?
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One of the most important books EVER.
Rating (5)
Date: 2006-12-20
2 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
I'd give this book 10 stars if I could. Ann Crittenden does an amazing job arguing for the rights of mothers (and women in general), backed with the kind of evidence you would find in scholarly journals.
More than convincing, and more than infuriating (though you won't want to stop), because with every page you realize that all the things you never really paid attention to or thought was fair (a wife getting less than half of her ex-husband's assets, etc.) are really just another subtle way our current system reinforces women's secondary place in society. I never really considered myself a feminist (even though I have taken numerous courses on sociology, anthro, and the like, and read up quite a bit on the subject) because I thought the idea was more or less outdated. We women have come a long way, have we not? I have certainly been convinced that I was wrong and short-sighted, and that there is another crucial step toward true equality, and other countries already have successful models of it in place (countries whose economies Americans envy - this is not a coincidence). I encourage everyone to read it. It will without a doubt open your eyes, and you will never see motherhood in the same light again.
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The Price Isn't Right...This is an Interesting Read
Rating  (4)
Date: 2006-12-01
3 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
What you get in The Price of Motherhood is an interesting look at what has become a "hot topic" among what seem to be an endless stream of women leaving high-paying jobs to devote more time to raising their children...they are discovering what the rest of us already know and they aren't any happier about it than the rest of us. Crittenden presents us with information drawn both from her personal experience and from those of dozens of women all over the world and she looks at systems that support (or fail to) women and children in countries the globe over. Distilled, Crittenden's message is that women who have children in the United States sacrifice at least some level of professional advancement, societal status, leisure time, and economic security and/or independence. She believes that college-educated women, who have (or had) the best shot of "having it all", lose the most. If a highly educated women leaves the workforce to have a child, Crittenden cites data that estimates she will lose about a million dollars in overall lifetime earnings; additionally, she will not be economically compensated for parenting and running a household. In this end, she will receive no social security benefits for the work she does at home; she faces an inflexible job market that offers minimal opportunity for adequately paid part-time work; and if she divorces, most state laws will deny her family assets because divorce laws do not count unpaid work.
The Price of Motherhood is interesting and informative while also managing to be deeply depressing. Above all else, I think it is a book all young women should read...this one or one VERY like it. The message that becoming a mother basically incurs a penalty for the rest of a woman's life whether she has "career aspirations" or not is one that I don't think enough young girls and women get. We're all led to believe that motherhood is the highest calling, that it and keeping a solid household is something that's inherently women's work and this work, while being touted as all important, is largely undervalued and unappreciated. Girls and Women everywhere should be going into motherhood with more foreknowledge of what it really means for their long term career goals.
I like that the book acknowledges that the wage gap between single, childless men and women is all but non-existent and that it really doesn't come into play for men or women until they decide to have children. While there is definitely a mommy tax for women (with children) which is not present for men (with children) making 40,000 or more a year, with a stay-at-home wife, I would have liked more time devoted to the fact that there is also a parent penalty (just a mommy tax) for those people who can't or won't put in the hours that single, non-married, childless individuals do. Men are also penalized for taking time out for their families, for going home at the scheduled end of the day and for not having as great a scheduling flexibility as their single co-workers. Crittenden focuses almost solely on women/mothers...but I feel that there is a penalty for both men and women with children in the workplace today. Reading The Price of Motherhood is a good starting place for those people considering undertaking the daunting task of becoming parents. Most of us go into it thinking about the benefits and not so much about the cost or penalties that are also a part of that decision...or we falsely underestimate what being a parent can truly mean long term.
While I feel that Crittenden elucidates the problem quite well, her solutions are bound to stir up controversy, like The Motherhood Manifesto, I found myself cheering on one had and booing on the other. I'd like to see many of the benefits that she lists, but single, childless people already have a big enough problem with paying taxes to support public schools, I just don't see a majority of people (even mothers, working or not) embracing these types of policies/changes and frankly, some are just unrealistic in my opinion. I agree that change is needed and we need women who are willing to work to make these issues more visible and people in office that will be able to take that visibility a reality, I just don't know how quickly that is likely to happen.
I'd recommend this book without reservation, though as I said above, I don't think all of her solutions are viable this IS information that women considering having children should have before they make that decision...which means Crittenden's message needs to be delivered early to young women. I give it an A-, it's well written, easy to understand and highly informative, but falls short on the solution side. A great start, but don't stop here.
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Raging Sense of Entitlement in the name of Motherhood
Rating  (1)
Date: 2006-09-09
15 out of 36 customers found this reveiw helpful
Believe it or not, I do agree with some points that she makes in this book. Motherhood is a very undervalued job, and we certainly still have a long way to go to acheive equality between men and women when it comes to childrearing. I also agree that mothers should have a decent maternity leave and that there should be better laws for deadbeat dads.
However, the writer's proposed solutions to these issues are absurd, and not very well thought out at all.
First of all, parenting is a choice, and as the saying goes-with choice, comes responsibility. In the same way that it is your choice to have children and parent them as you wish, it is your responsibility to pay for them. You would not like others telling you how many children you can have, or IF you can have them at all, and god knows how many parents are upset if anyone even sounds like they're telling them how to raise them, so you can't just turn around and make those same people responsible for paying for your child. There is no doubt you will be forced to make financial sacrifices if you choose to have a child and stay at home, but let me get this straight- as a childless by choice woman, I should have to have more money taken from my paycheck (that I work hard for too) so that I can fund your personal choice? That on top of all of the other taxes I pay that benefit you and your children (especially after being insulted and basically called a "freeloader" in society), in what way is this fair?
Like I've said before, there is no doubt in my mind there are many inequities between women and their husbands when it comes to childrearing, and you rightfully deserve more support. That support needs to come from your husband (who also chose to have children), not the government. Not your boss. Not the childless. We are not your enemy simply because we have not made the same choices you have made.
I see in this book the many tasks stay at home mothers perform in a day's work that the author proposes they be paid for. Most of these, aside from childrearing duties, are the same household chores that await me when I get home from a 9+ hour day at work. Am I demanding that someone pay me to do these things because they are a drag and I would like more free time? No. Many of these things in the past have been seen as "women's work". Want to make sure they remain viewed that way forever? Insist that stay at home mothers be paid for them!
It is debatable at best, to say that procreation benefits society. With overpopulation becoming a growing concern, are you really afraid no one will be around to pad social security (As if there will actually be social security when we're older)? Do you really believe that all of us who have not chosen to have kids are somehow not doing our bit for society? And are you really afraid there will be a shortage of people providing services? Are your children going to be working for free as a special benefit to me? Is that why you had them? Or did you have them for your personal enjoyment, as you should have, like I believe? It's wonderful if you did that, but please stop acting like you did it as a favor to mankind.
You want parenting treated as a job, as in one that you're paid for? Wait a minute, I thought it was supposed to be seen as a rewarding gift. When I work at a job, I don't just walk in. I have to apply, be screened against other candidates, and be qualified for the position. Does this mean you're willing to go through the same things when you take on the "job" of raising a child? I am also subject to reviews based on my performance. Surely, the people paying you will want to make sure you're doing a good enough job. Would you be willing to listen to others telling you how & how not to parent? I can get fired at work if I do a poor job. How would that work for you? Do we get to take away your pay? Or your child? Let's talk about salary: Salary is based on whatever demand there is for that position, which is why a retail worker gets paid less than a surgeon- becuase there are more people who can perform the job out there to work in the mall than who can perform surgery. Being that everyone would be lined up for the job as mother, what end of the salary spectrum to you think you'll fall on? You'll be opening up a can of worms and inviting all of these questions when you expect motherhood to be considered your full time paid job.
By the way, how would this work for working mothers? You know, the ones who also love their children but choose not to stay home and complain that they're losing money? This book was written by a woman who had a child in her forties, fell in love with her son, and got upset that she wasn't earning money anymore from the job she chose to leave.
Another thought- what incentive does this plan give to teenage girls in high school to go to college and earn a degree, knowing she can just get pregnant, stay at home, and get paid?
This book starts out with a few good points, but ends up giving both feminism and motherhood a bad name.
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Three cheers for mothers
Rating (4)
Date: 2006-03-15
6 out of 6 customers found this reveiw helpful
Motherhood is the most under-valued job in the Western world today, argues economics journalist Ann Crittenden. While everyone may give lip service to the values of motherhood, the truth is, it is an unappreciated and un-rewarded job. Governments especially may sing the praises of mothering, but they do very little to actually support mothers.
Indeed, economists in particular pay little or no attention to the many important contributions made by mothers to society. If the input they made were included in our Gross Domestic Product calculations, the figures would vastly different. As Crittenden notes, in the modern world, two thirds of all wealth is created by "human skills, creativity, and enterprise - what is known as `social capital'." That makes parents the major wealth producers in most Western economies.
Not only does home care work receive no economic recognition, in many cases it is actually penalised. Women in the paid work force usually get subsidized day care, while mums who stay at home get nothing. This is but one example of how stay-at-home mums are discriminated against in most Western nations.
The value of a mother to a community is in many ways immeasurable. To raise and nurture the next generation, training them to become model citizens of the future, is no mean task. It takes years of sacrifice, commitment and fortitude. Yet this job goes unrecognised and under-praised.
Mothers on average are estimated to work more than eighty hours a week, more than anyone else in the economy. Yet all this labor is counted as nothing. As Crittenden explains, in a "culture that measures worth and achievement almost solely in terms of money, the intensive work of rearing responsible adults counts for little".
It is only when we put it in business terms that the picture becomes more clear. We should value a mother's work "at the level of a middle manager, plus the additional occasional services of a psychologist, a financial planner, a chauffeur, and so on." Indeed, a mum is also a chef, a teacher, a nurse, a child care worker, a sports coordinator, a cleaner, a wardrobe consultant, and much more. What wages in the paid workplace would a person with these combined talents bring in?
Crittenden cites the research of economists who have calculated the value of unpaid work done in the home to be equivalent to one half to two thirds of the GNP.
And of even more importance, a mother molds and shapes a child's character, hopefully rounding off the rough edges, curbing bad habits and promoting good ones. Children are being prepared for the role of a responsible citizen, and no social worker or government bureaucrat can replace a mother (and a father) in this regard.
However, Crittenden is certainly no conservative, and she shares most of the major feminist beliefs. For example, she argues for universal pre-school, more subsidised day care places, more workplace flexibility. All these are common feminist proposals. But she does recognise, unlike many feminists, that mothers really are important, and they deserve social, political and economic support.
Her feminist perspective shows up in many places. For example, she brings up the usual complaint about "deadbeat dads", that divorced men are often not making their alimony or child support payments. Yet she does not mention that the reason this is often the case is that many men are denied access to their own children, or even if they are allowed visiting time, many mums make it very difficult for them to do so. So the issue cuts both ways. Although it may not be right, one can understand a father being hesitant about dishing out money for the children he is often denied access to.
But Crittenden does point out that feminists have not always helped the lot of mothers. The truth is, the improvement of the conditions of motherhood, and a renewed push to revalue mothers, is just not on the feminist agenda. For too long feminists have argued that the only good woman is a career woman, and motherhood and homemaking are oppressive jobs, not worthy of liberated women. Says Crittenden, "women may have come a long way, but mothers have a lot further to go".
And she criticises conservatives for talking family values, but not really doing much to help mothers. To be fair, however, many conservative pro-family organisations have argued for years for proper recognition and support of motherhood.
Thus this book is neither wholly feminist nor wholly conservative, (although it clearly is closer to the feminist worldview). But it is refreshing for taking motherhood seriously, and for standing up for mothers when so few others actually are. And whether all her proposals to relieve mothers (especially in terms of financial help) are the best options or not, at least she is giving in-principle support for the invaluable job mothers perform.
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