In Pursuit of Equity: Women, Men, and the Quest for Economic Citizenship in Twentieth-Century America

by Alice Kessler-Harris

Few historians have contributed more to our understanding of the history of women, and women's effect on history, than Alice Kessler-Harris. Author of the classic Out to Work , she is one of the country's leading scholars of gender, the economy, and public policy.
In this volume, Kessler-Harris pierces the skin of arguments and legislation to grasp the preconceptions that have shaped the experience of a "gendered imagination" that has defined what men and women alike think of as fair and desirable. In this brilliant account that traces social
policy from the New Deal to the 1970s, she shows how a deeply embedded set of beliefs has distorted seemingly neutral social legislation to further limit the freedom and equality of women. Government rules generally sought to protect women from exploitation, even from employment itself; but at the
same time, they attached the most important benefits to wage work. To be a real citizen, one must earn--and most policymakers (even female ones) assumed from the beginning that women were not, and should not be breadwinners. Kessler-Harris traces the impact of this gender bias in the New Deal
programs of Social Security, unemployment insurance, and fair labor standards, in Federal income tax policy, and the new discussion of women's rights that emerged after World War II. "For generations," she writes, "American women lacked not merely the practice, but frequently the idea of individual
economic freedom." Only in the 1960s and '70s did old assumptions begin to break down--yet the process is far from complete.
Even today, with women closer to full economic citizenship than ever before, Kessler-Harris's insights offer a keen new understanding of the issues that dominate the headlines, from the marriage penalty in the tax code to the glass ceiling in corporate America.

Genres: History, American History, Feminism, Nonfiction, Economics, Sociology, Politics

384 pages, Hardcover

First published August 23, 2001

About the author

Alice Kessler-Harris is the R. Gordon Hoxie Professor of American History at Columbia University, in New York City and former president of the Organization of American Historians. She specializes in the history of American labor and the comparative and interdisciplinary exploration of women and gender.

Kessler-Harris received her B.A. from Goucher College in 1961 and her Ph.D. from Rutgers University in 1968.

She contributed the piece "Pink Collar Ghetto, Blue Collar Token" to the 2003 anthology Sisterhood Is Forever: The Women's Anthology for a New Millennium, edited by Robin Morgan.

Her newest book, A Difficult Woman: The Challenging Life and Times of Lillian Hellman, was published in June 2012. Her other books include Gendering Labor History, which collects some of her best-known essays on women and wage work; In Pursuit of Equity: Women, Men, and the Quest for Economic Citizenship in Twentieth Century America, which won several prizes including the Joan Kelly Prize, the Philip Taft award, and the Bancroft Prize. Among her other fellowships and awards, Kessler-Harris has been a fellow at the National Humanities Center in Durham, North Carolina and at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. She is the past president of the Labor and Working-Class History Association.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Matthew Rohn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very tightly written history of the development of the U.S. welfare state and New Deal era economic state focused on how economic support programs have been designed to foster particular family structures and gender relationships, how this has changed over time, and how the mechanical construction of many of these policies (both legislative and judicial) have had important desperate effects on women. Major recommendation for anyone interested in U.S. welfare policy or labor or women's history

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Describes the ways that gendered thinking influenced the construction of the Welfare State. An emphasis on family life and maternalism created laws to protect women (most notably Muller v Oregon), but these protections came at with a high cost, they restricted the ability of women to compete for and achieve full economic citizenship. Furthermore, as many benefits in the United States are benefits of employment, and not benefits of citizenship, this gendered development increased the dependence of women on male providers. Unfortunately, a real slog.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intensive history of the ways that traditional motherhood role of women have impacted women's quest for economic equality.

[AskHistorians]

Classic study of economic inequality in the 20th Century US.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting analysis of the role of "gendered imagination" and its inscription into law and policy in fostering inequity beginning with the New Deal and calcifying it in subsequent decades.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Pursuit of Equity shows us how a community of shared ideas can stymie progress. According to Kessler-Harris, the high unemployment of the Great Depression and subsequent economic policies to correct the situation codified women as second-class citizens because of traditional thoughts on gender roles. The government bestowed the benefits of full economic citizenship on the family unit and worker, not the individual. Also championed by women, legislation reinforced and protected the traditional role of women as mothers and family members. With jobs scarce during the Depression, the government and public thought married women should leave the workforce; those jobs would better support men and women who led families. When constructing social security benefits, congress decided women should receive a smaller entitlement because they could care for a household. Alternatively, a man needed more money because they would have to pay someone to aid them at home. Income tax was also levied against the family unit allowing a married man to file a joint tax return and receive a tax exemption for his spouse. The single parents, primarily women, were not afforded this benefit. Kessler-Harris rightly argues that the discrimination of women was born from communally held beliefs about gender roles. Once gender roles were codified into law, they became difficult to change despite sweeping changes in social norms over time.

[Leanne Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent account of how societal definitions of women's place in the family influenced how legislatures, employees, and advocates forged women's economic citizenship. From safety and protection laws, to exclusive union membership, to preserving men's employment, to racism, equal pay, taxes, Kessler-Harris covers it all. She is thorough, comprehensive, and delves into the complexities of how women's rights improved the advancement of middle and upper class white women, but how the stigma of welfare and variances in family units have sometimes been negatively impacted by a narrow focus on the individual woman's economic advancement. Too often, this country focuses on the individual, the "freedom" to pursuit one's advancement at any cost. We need to think about society as a whole, and hopefully, recent events are forging this needed trend.

[Zac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Organization of the book is a bit scattered, and I'm not always convinced of individual points (AFL voluntarism might be gendered, but I think we'd need more evidence to conclude that this was the driving factor). Yet, it's a uniquely discursive take on the US welfare state - the broader point is well-made, and it's clear who lost out from those laws.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gendered imagination paradigm. Awsome tool for historical research. Read it and understand it and then be thrilled with it!

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preparing for class...reading new things so I can teach from a different perspective. I loved this view of history and feminists concerns...but will me students?

[Chai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simply excellent! Essential reading for anyone who acres about advancing gender equity in this country.