The Culture War Against Women (Reshma Saujani)

Reshma Saujani a leading advocate for women’s economic power, the founder of Girls Who Code and Moms First, and the force behind the new documentary No Country for Mothers. After helping change the culture around girls in technology, she has turned her attention to the policies and assumptions that continue to push women—especially mothers—out of the workforce.

In this conversation, she joins Emma to talk about the cultural and structural forces shaping women’s ambition, motherhood, money, and power. They get into the real cost of childcare, paid leave, and workplace inflexibility; why mothers are still penalized for showing up as their full selves at work; and how the internet has turned “trad wife vs. girl boss” into a culture war that keeps women fighting each other instead of fighting for meaningful change.

In this episode, Reshma and Emma discuss:

• Who benefits from pitting women against each other
• The motherhood penalty and why it differs from the gender pay gap
• What real workplace support for women and mothers should actually look like
• Why fighting for a better system and taking responsibility for your life can both be true at once
• What it takes to create more choice, freedom, and economic power for women
• How to build a world women don’t have to shrink their lives to fit the systems around them