"Work - who does what tasks in society, and what they get in return - is at the heart of social justice. Even today, the gender system brings about a gendered division of labour that is both cause and consequence of men's greater status and power. These dynamics limit what we can do and be, unfairly tip the scales when it comes to what we get in return, create gendered distortions of competence and productivity, and irrational resistance to reforms that would make our workplaces more productive and fairer. The effects seep well beyond workplaces, contributing to poverty, undermining health, putting pressure on family life and preserving females' second-class status, and causing real harm and injustice for both sexes.
But progress in dismantling these arrangements is being stymied by two false visions that pervade mainstream debate and discussion.
The business-case Diversity, Equality & Inclusion (DEI) approach offers us band-aid solutions, sold to powerful stakeholders with promises of enhanced profits and performance, while 'Different But Equal' perspectives reassure that contemporary arrangements are fair, and reflect natural differences between the sexes.
In response, Patriarchy Inc. offers perceptive and much-needed insight into persistent inequalities in who does what and who gets what, dispels the false visions of gender equality that distract us, and charts a path towards effective, common-sense reforms that will make workplaces and society fairer and freer for everyone."
"The brilliant and hugely influential book by the winner of the 2017 royal society insight investment science books prize
Gender inequalities are increasingly defended by citing hard-wired differences between the male and female brain. That’s why, we’re told, there are so few women in science, so few men in the laundry room – different brains are just suited to different things. With sparkling wit and humour, Cordelia Fine attacks this ‘neurosexism’, revealing the mind’s remarkable plasticity, the substantial influence of culture on identity, and the malleability of what we consider to be ‘hardwired’ difference. This modern classic shows the surprising extent to which boys and girls, men and women are made – not born.
“Fun, droll yet deeply serious.” - NEW SCIENTIST
“A brilliant feminist critic of the neurosciences … Read her, enjoy and learn.” - HILARY ROSE, THES"
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