We take this template ... and act as if it's God-given, ... We don't see that this was a social invention and we can re-invent it. We as a society need to create new templates for work life.

233

That works well when one person is a homemaker, ... That frees the other person to pursue their career, the prestige, the job security. And that worked for middle-class families in the middle of the 20th century. But today, there are very few families where there's a full-time homemaker.

199

It doesn't look like much, but it's statistically significant.

184

[A couple often starts out roughly equal in pay and hours worked,] and suddenly, they find themselves in the traditional roles because the world of work hasn't changed, ... It's hard to pursue two full-time careers and have a family. It's just about impossible unless you can afford to hire a full-time nanny.

175

The only way you show (job) commitment now is through long hours. The fact that seniority no longer means security means somebody has to look committed even if they're not committed.

149