America's Maternal Bias Against Women in the Workplace — Sarah Lacy of Chairman Mom

#023 — 40% of American households believe that it is bad for society if mothers work.

Because sexism is a global phenomenon, you might believe this statistic to be universal as well—but it just isn’t. In fact, this kind of maternal bias against women in the workplace is a strictly American phenomenon. Diverse cultures from deeply feminist Iceland to ‘one-child policy’ China simply do not have stay-at-home moms.

Today Sarah explains how this staggering statistic manifests itself in the our culture, from the wage gap to maternity leave policy to overt sexism on the job. I ask her about the need to dismantle the patriarchy and her experience of maternal bias in the workplace. She shares her journey from ‘cool girl’ sexism denier to fierce feminist, explaining how becoming a mother allowed her to find her power as a woman and gave her the confidence to start her own business. Listen in as we discuss the way that calling out bad behavior is shifting the world of work and how to go about changing the narrative of the young, single working mother, startup founder.

FULL SHOW NOTES:

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LEARN MORE ABOUT SARAH LACY:

Sarah Lacy is the founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief of investigative tech news organization PandoMedia. An award-winning reporter based in Silicon Valley, Sarah was a columnist for Bloomberg Businessweek and senior editor at TechCrunch before striking out on her own. She has fifteen-plus years of experience covering technology news and all things startups, making her a sought-after speaker at tech and business conferences around the world. Sarah is the critically-acclaimed author of several books, including the recently published A Uterus is a Feature, Not a Bug.

A Uterus is a Feature, Not a Bug: The Working Woman’s Guide to Overthrowing the Patriarchy by Sarah Lacy

Email mom@chairmanmom.com

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RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 

Courtney Martin at On Being

“The End of the Cult of the Founder” in Wired

Reset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change by Ellen Pao

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