📘 A Uterus is a Feature, Not a Bug: The Working Woman's Guide to Overthrowing the Patriarchy
by Sarah Lacy
Genre Nonfiction
Publication Harper Business ◦ 2017
Format & Source Print ◦ For review, TLC Tours
Rating ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
📝 My Review
The subtitle of this book is “The Working Woman’s Guide to Overthrowing the Patriarchy,” which instantly had me intrigued. While I don’t consider myself to be a feminist (though obviously I think women should have equal rights), I am most definitely a working woman and working mother. I was glad to see a book about working motherhood that validated many of my thoughts and feelings.
Sarah Lacy is a successful technology journalist, writer, and business owner. I hadn’t heard of her prior to this book, but her words instantly resonated with me. The main point of this book is that though many view mothers as being weak in the workforce, tons of research has shown that mothers are in fact complete assets to the workforce. Studies have shown that women become more productive after becoming mothers, most notably after having multiple children. Despite that, there is much bias against mothers in the workplace and they often get turned down for promotions and opportunities because their motherhood is seen as a sign of weakness.
Lacy provided proof for the thoughts I’ve had in my nearly three years since becoming a mom. Luckily, I work in a female dominated field (librarianship), and don’t see any bias against women or mothers. However, I truly did see myself as becoming more productive and stronger after having my son. In fact, it was only AFTER I had Caleb that I received the biggest promotion of my career thus far (I was promoted from PT to FT and from assistant to librarian when Caleb was 1.5). Why? I credit the strength that motherhood gave me. Concrete proof: after I had my son, I forced myself out of my shell because I wanted to be the best person and mom I could be. I found my voice, asked for a meeting, presented my skills to my bosses, and found myself promoted shortly thereafter. If I had never become a mom, I might not have found that inner voice and strength I so desperately needed. This is still one of the proudest moments in my career and life.
Lacy gives voice to many of the thoughts that women have: I am constantly seeing women saying they’re looking for a job, have an interview, and need to hide their pregnancy. It’s seen as a liability, but as Lacy show us, it shouldn’t be! Yes, women go out on a short maternity leave, but in the long run, they come back stronger and better than ever.
I’ve had many conflicting emotions about my own experience as a working mother. I often feel guilty that I’m missing time with my son. I also feel guilty sometimes that I ENJOY my career, take pride in it, and want to excel in it. I want to be successful in all areas of my life: as a mother, as a librarian, as a wife, sister, friend, aunt, and more. Lacy makes me feel a bit better about trying to have it all and do it all.
Some of this book was a bit out of my comfort zone: lots of business talk, mentions of Silicon Valley, entrepreneurship, venture capitalists, and more. Those aspects, and the feminist undertones, sometimes went a bit over my head. Despite that, I learned a lot about business and Silicon Valley that I found very interesting. The parts I enjoyed the most, of course, were the parts that touched most heavily on what it means to be a working mother in today’s society.
I would definitely recommend this book to working moms with the caveat that there is a lot of business talk, and it has a feminist slant to it. I enjoyed it though and found it to be empowering and insightful.
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