Taking On the Big Boys (Or Why Feminism Is Good for Families, Business, and the Nation)

“Please, please, please. All working women must read this book! Ellen Bravo not only vividly exposes workplace inequities, she gives real-life solutions, picking up where my film 9 to 5 left off.”—Jane Fonda, activist and actor

Gold Medal Winner of ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Award for Women’s Issues

Enough about “breaking the glass ceiling.” Here are blueprints for a redesign of the entire building, ground up, to benefit women and men—and even the bottom line.

The feisty humor of Molly Ivins and the journalistic flair of Barbara Ehrenreich meet when longtime labor activist Ellen Bravo relates stories from business and government and women’s testimonies from offices, assembly lines, hospitals, and schools. Bravo unmasks the patronizing, trivializing, and minimizing tactics employed by “the big boys” and their surrogates: They portray feminism as women against men, and they dismiss as outrageous demands for pay equity, family leave, and flex time. Practical tips on everything from dealing with a sexual harasser to getting family members to share chores (and build equal relationships) enliven many chapters.

Bravo argues for feminism as a system of beliefs, laws, and practices that fully values women and work associated with women, while detailing activist strategies to achieve a society where everybody—women and men—reach their potential.