Unconscious bias is becoming a frequent topic of conversation, but the impact of gender and gendered work on daily life is less often considered. In her debut, Equal Partners, Kate Mangino leans on more than 20 years of experience as an international expert in women's equality and healthy masculinity to walk readers through one of the bastions of gender inequality in the U.S.: the home.
"Despite our understanding of feminist theory and the restrictions of traditional masculinity, household inequality persists," writes Mangino. Equal Partners brings readers more than just research and experiences from Mangino's focus group members. It is also a guidebook that provides a variety of reflective exercises to help readers interrogate their assumptions about gender and gendered work in their personal lives. It includes a gender glossary to help bring readers up to speed on terminology in the field of gender studies, while also calling attention to how language use affects gender bias. Mangino incisively examines narratives and dialogues around gendered work in the home and provides counter-narratives to help readers find more balance in their partnerships. She delves into gender norms; how they impact daily life; how they can be challenged--and changed--if examined effectively; and how consciously to build new systems, one step at a time, in the home. Equal Partners is an approachable starting point for people who want to redress inequalities in their own relationships from an informed perspective. --Michelle Anya Anjirbag, freelance reviewer