A Uterus is a Feature, Not a Bug Review Tour

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A Uterus is a Feature, Not a Bug by Sarah Lacy
Published by HarperBusiness on November 14, 2017
Genres: Non Fiction
Pages: 320
Format: ARC
Source: Provided as part of book tour
Goodreads

A rallying cry for working mothers everywhere that demolishes the "distracted, emotional, weak" stereotype and definitively shows that these professionals are more focused, decisive, and stronger than any other force.

Working mothers aren’t a liability. They are assets you—and every manager and executive—want in your company, in your investment portfolio, and in your corner.

There is copious academic research showing the benefits of working mothers on families and the benefits to companies who give women longer and more flexible parental leave. There are even findings that demonstrate women with multiple children actually perform better at work than those with none or one.

Yet despite this concrete proof that working mothers are a lucrative asset, they still face the "Maternal Wall"—widespread unconscious bias about their abilities, contributions, and commitment. Nearly eighty percent of women are less likely to be hired if they have children—and are half as likely to be promoted. Mothers earn an average $11,000 less in salary and are held to higher punctuality and performance standards. Forty percent of Silicon Valley women said they felt the need to speak less about their family to be taken more seriously. Many have been told that having a second child would cost them a promotion.

Fortunately, this prejudice is slowly giving way to new attitudes, thanks to more women starting their own businesses, and companies like Netflix, Facebook, Apple, and Google implementing more parent-friendly policies. But the most important barrier to change isn’t about men. Women must rethink the way they see themselves after giving birth. As entrepreneur Sarah Lacy makes clear in this cogent, persuasive analysis and clarion cry, the strongest, most lucrative, and most ambitious time of a woman’s career may easily be after she sees a plus sign on a pregnancy test.

 Julie’s Review:

 

I’m actually doing this book tour on Instagram believe it or not. The representative contacted me because of my IG profile as a working mom and asked me to participate, and review on IG! I said, sure that’s so cool. But figured I can also post on my book blog.

A book about being a working mom? And kicking butt? Yea I was all in. I was looking forward to something motivational and uplifting for moms and working women.

I admit I have mixed feelings about this book, though. It comes on quite strong, sharing all the statistics about the patriarchy and how difficult women still have it in the working world. I did like the memoir aspects and the struggles our author went through with her own business and parenthood that were sprinkled throughout all those chapters.

There were a lot of names dropped of people and tech companies. Many of them I was not familiar with, but I enjoyed reading the stories of women who have been very successful in their careers, especially those who said they became more driven, more determined after motherhood.

Here is a quote I really liked (middle paragraph):

 

Purchase Links
HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About Sarah Lacy

Sarah Lacy is the founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief of the investigative tech news site Pando.com. She has been covering technology news and entrepreneurship for over fifteen years, with stints at BusinessWeek and TechCrunch before founding her own company while on maternity leave in 2011. She lives in San Francisco. Most importantly of all, she is the mother of two young children.

Follow Sarah on Twitter.

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