Patriarchy Inc.: What We Get Wrong About Gender Equality—and Why Men Still Win at Work

A razor-sharp and quick-witted analysis of why we need a new approach to fixing the gender inequality in work Work remains much as it always has: Men occupy the vast majority of leadership roles and are overrepresented in positions, from engineer to plumber. We regard many jobs as “male” or “female,” with women dominating healthcare and childcare professions. Pretending this is the natural order of things―or that instead both sexes should submit to working 24/7―is wrong. In Patriarchy Inc., Cordelia Fine examines why gender inequality is embedded in the workplace and why it has to change. Drawing on theories from evolutionary science, psychology, economics, and sociology, she looks at two of the most prominent movements in the corporate world: The "Different but Equal" viewpoint, which asserts that women are in the jobs they want despite their lower status and salaries, and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), which emphasizes productivity and profit, not fairness. Fine shows how everyone loses when men remain in traditional breadwinner roles and women have to fight for their due. Offering perceptive and much-needed insight into the current state of work, Patriarchy Inc. explores how we can get closer to achieving equality, even if it means upturning business as usual.