Making Motherhood Work: How Women Manage Careers and Caregiving

Mothers experience a work-family conflict. Women struggle to balance breadwinning with the bulk of parenting. Social policies don't help. Of all Western industrialized countries, the United States ranks last for supportive work-family policies: No federal paid parental leave. The highest gender wage gap. No minimum standard for vacation and sick days. The highest maternal and child poverty rates. Can American women look to European policies for solutions? This book draws on interviews that Collins conducted over five years with 135 middle-class working mothers in Sweden, Germany, Italy, and the United States. She explores how women navigate work and family given the different policy supports available in each country.