For Book Clubs

Getting to 50/50 generates great discussion and gives members concrete ideas for improving their lives--We hope you’ll consider Getting to 50/50 for your next book club read. - Book Club Questions PDF

On the Today Show, we talked about a mindset shift that makes life easier for working parents.  Does 50/50 mean you split tasks evenly every day? No. Sometimes it’s 60/40 or 90/10.  What we’re talking about is a core belief: That dads need the time with their kids just like women do and that moms need their jobs just like men do.  As more of us -- and our employers -- think this way, we’ll all have more of what we want in life.

Time says Getting to 50/50 does “an admirable job of building a case that a 50-50 marriage helps both partners”

Elle calls Getting to 50/50 “lively, provocative… [giving] readers kitchen-counter perspective on the mutually supportive domestic give-and-take”

The Huffington Post calls Getting to 50/50 "Obama-like... well-informed and clear-eyed...refreshingly upbeat”

We are making a special offer of a free signed copy to the first 20 book clubs that select Getting to 50/50 for their groups and will be available via Skype to talk with your club about the book.

Attached are our book discussion outline, FAQs and 50/50 Facts. More information, press and praise for Getting to 50/50 below.

 

Background

After interviewing hundreds of parents and employers, surveying more than a thousand working mothers, and combing through the latest government and social science research, the authors have discovered that kids, husbands, and wives all reap huge benefits when couples commit to share equally as breadwinners and caregivers. Mothers work without guilt, fathers bond with their kids, and children blossom with the attention of two involved parents.

The starting point? An attitude shift that puts you on the road to 50/50 —plus the positive step-by-step advice in this book. Here are real-world solutions for parents who want to get ahead in their careers and still get to their children’s soccer games; strategies for working mothers facing gender bias in the workplace; advice to fathers new to the homefront; and tips for finding 50/50 solutions to deal with issues of money, time, and much more.

Sharon Meers is a former managing director at Goldman Sachs. Joanna Strober is managing director of a private equity firm in Silicon Valley. They live with their families in the Bay Area and speak frequently on work-life balance at companies, universities and professional organizations nationwide.

Please see links below to recent press on Getting to 50/50. Amazon recommended the book on their Mother's Day Books list. All press available here: http://gettingto5050.com/press.htm

 

Recent Press

NY Times- Room For Debate,  A Female Specialty: Feedback
BusinessWeekHow to Excel at Your Job and Be Home for Family Dinner
ForbesNine to Five
BusinessWeekSurviving the Downturn
USA TodayNew Roles at Home call for New Rules.

 

Praise for Getting to 50/50

Getting to 50/50 builds on what the latest research tells us:  that children can thrive with two working parents and that fathers and mothers play equally important roles.  It shows parents how to push back at 24/7 work demands and is filled with fresh insights from men and women who are successfully combining careers and family.  I wish this book had existed when I was raising young daughters.”

—Kathleen McCartney, Dean, Harvard Graduate School of Education

 

“Anyone who wants to combine children and careers should read this book. Getting to 50/50 shows you how the integration of professional achievement and family life can strengthen, rather than weaken, each part.”

—Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook

 

Getting to 50/50 is the first book I’ve read that gets it 100% right.   The advice is brilliant, the examples cogent and compelling, and the tone wise and humorous.  For anyone who wants to enjoy a full career, be a complete parent, and remain a supportive spouse, this is the book that will help you chart the way.”

—Roderick Kramer, William R. Kimball Professor of Organizational Behavior, Stanford University Graduate School of Business

 

“As an organizer for social and economic justice, a true believer in equality, a working mom and a woman leader in a male dominated sector...the labor movement, I found 50/50 right on.  It is full of great advice about how to speak up and negotiate for women, their families and their careers all at the same time.”

—Anna Burger, Secretary-Treasurer of Service Employees International Union

 

“With its deft blend of research, interviews, and downright sensible advice, Getting to 50/50 offers a creative take on how to balance the demands of work and home.  (Fathers may be surprised to find out how much they can benefit from these new arrangements.)  Parents with children from 1 to 21 should  rush right out and buy it.”

—Carolyn Pape Cowan and Philip A. Cowan, authors of When Parents Become Partners: The Big Life Change for Couples

 

“Too many women think they have to give up the career they love to have a happy family.  Getting to 50/50 shows them how to negotiate with bosses and husbands so that everybody wins—including the kids.  Highly recommended.”

—Linda Babcock, coauthor of Women Don’t Ask and Ask for It


Amazon

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Indie Bound