Equal Partners: Improving Gender Equality at Home

Gender consultant Mangino debuts with a thoughtful treatise on how to achieve parity in the division of household labor. Troubled by research findings that women in different-sex relationships contribute more to physical and emotional work around the home than their partners, Mangino provides “ideas, stories, interviews, and suggestions about what you can do to address household gender inequality with your partner.” She studies 40 men who match their partners’ contributions at home, noting that all are strong communicators, prioritize family time, and aren’t afraid of vulnerability. Mangino proffers advice on how to build an equal partnership while dating, suggesting, for example, that “‘the gender talk’... should be an ongoing dialogue” and that those in the “Female Role” (which, she notes, can be occupied by someone of any gender) should make sure their partner supports their career. Mangino’s sharp insights into contemporary gender dynamics persuasively argue that there remains much to be done to achieve equality between partners (she reports, for instance, on research that found “working mothers today spend as many hours taking care of their children as stay-at-home mothers did in the 1970s”). The result is a vital manual for understanding how gender norms shape domestic life and how readers can change the script. (June)