Synopses & Reviews
Sharon Meers and Joanna Strober are professionals, wives, and mothers. They understand the challenges and rewards of two-career households. They also know that families thrive not in spite of working mothers but because of them. You can have a great career, a great marriage, and be a great mother. The key is tapping into your best resource and most powerful allythe man you married.
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.
From baby boot camp” for new dads to exactly what to say when negotiating a leave with the boss, this savvy book offers fresh ideas to todays families offering encouragement, hope, and confidence to any woman who has ever questioned her choices regarding work and family.
Winner of the Independent Publisher Award Gold Medal in Parenting
Review
"Don't believe the myths about women and work - this advice will benefit you now and in the future." - Sheryl Sandberg, author of
Lean In and COO of Facebook
Review
Winner of the ForeWord Reviews 2013 IndieFab Awards Silver medal in the category of Family and Relationships
Winner of the Independent Publisher Book Awards 2014 Gold medal in the category of Parenting
"Don't believe the myths about women and work - this advice will benefit you now and in the future."
Sheryl Sandberg, author of Lean In and COO of Facebook
"In light of the ongoing debate over how and if working mothers can have it all, the authors say women can have successful careers and be good moms, but only if their spouses are equal partners in the work at home."
Washington Post
"Getting to 50/50 highlights the perpetual debate about the proper work-life balance for parents, particularly for women."
CBS Money Watch
"A valuable read for working couples contemplating parenthood.
Financial Post
"Authors Sharon Meers and Joanna Strober (and a foreword by Sheryl Sandberg) empower mothers to strive for this goal by highlighting experts advice, couples who are making it work, and concrete steps you can take to get to 50/50."
Flex Jobs
"Getting To 50/50: How Working Parents Can Have It All is a book not just for women. Its a message of freedom, a guide to empowerment and shows how two spouses working can benefit the entire family unit. Reading it will spark discussion with your husband and whomever you choose to share its views with. Let the dialogue begin!"
Savvy GeekMoms
"An inspiring and empowering read for all Proud Working Moms."
Proud Working Mom
"Real tips and tricks to make your marriage 50/50 before baby and once the kids have arrived."
Salt and Nectar
"Getting to 50/50: How working parents can have it all is a call to arms."
Working Mums
"An interesting social study into the dynamics of the nuclear family and the demands on working parents. "
Redefining Mom
"I highly recommend this book for dads that want to give their families more balance."
Playground Dad
"Kudos to Meers and Strober for publishing this important, much-needed book."
Working Moms Against Guilt
"All types of families can benefit from shifting perspective from competition between men and women, to cooperation that improves life for everyone involved."
Foreword Reviews
Getting to 50/50 offers hope and help, perspective and advice and ultimately, some extraordinarily practical approaches to making a family work, regardless of the specific challenges that family faces.
About.com
"Meers and Strober tell a highly readable story about how a 50/50 commitment to work AND family affects work, marriage, children, and sex. You wont want to miss Getting to 50/50."
Stew Friedman, Director, Wharton Work/Life Integration Project and author of Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life
"[Sharon and Joanna] have spoken at companies and business schools for more than a decade. They know the culture and the challenges. But they're convinced 50/50 can and should be done."
The Chicago Tribune
Offers advice on how to get husbands to pull their weight around the house."
"Woman's Hour," BBC 4
Sharon and Joanna are mothers with five young children between them. They understand the challenges and rewards of two career households. The key is tapping into your best resource and most powerful ally the man you married.”
The Green Parent
Finally! A book about two-income families that speaks the truth and provides solid advice. Every working mom needs to read this book... twice.”
Lois P. Frankel, Ph.D., author of Nice Girls Dont Get the Corner Office
Getting to 50/50 presents a solid business case for gender-equal workplaces and families, and then helps us realize how wonderful this solution is for relationships as well.”
Marc and Amy Vachon, authors of Equally Shared Parenting: Rewriting the Rules for a New Generation of Parents
"Wish I'd had a book like this years ago when I was a young working mother. Neither my husband nor I had a clue how to juggle the demands of our careers with the demands of being good parents. Our marriage suffered as a result. Today's working couples are fortunate to have a great book like Getting to 50/50 to turn to for helpful advice.
~ BJ Gallagher, author of It's Never Too Late To Be What You Might Have Been and What Would Buddha Do At Work?
"Sharon Meers and Joanna Strober are pioneers in illuminating the path for working couples to have it all. And as pioneers they have personally travelled the territory and offer an array of insights and options that nourish relationships and careers. If you are struggling with how working couples can have it all, you must read Getting to 50/50 for yourself, for your children and for your career and for your relationship."
Susyn Reeve, author of The Inspired Life
"When I was growing up there was a chewing gum commercial on the radio with a tune that touted, Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun.” I think it would be a great anthem for this insightful book that wisely shows not only the advantages of being a working couple but also why it is great for the kids as well. And, you, the reader, will surely double your knowledge and pleasure by reading Getting to 50/50.
-Allen Klein, author of Moms the Word: The Wit, Wisdom and Wonder of Motherhood
We all have the capacity to be successful in our career, and in our family life as well. Getting to 50/50: How Working Couples Can Have It All is the ideal resource every spouse needs to make that happen. This book is not only a tool to help improve your work/life balance; it also serves as a timeless gift which benefits the entire family.”
David Mezzapelle, author of Contagious Optimism
Synopsis
Winner of the ForeWord Reviews 2013 IndieFab Awards Silver medal in the category of Family & Relationships
Winner of the Independent Publisher Book Awards 2014 Gold medal in the category of Parenting
Sharon Meers and Joanna Strober are professionals wives and mothers. They understand the challenges and rewards of two-career households. They also know that families thrive not in spite of working mothers but because of them. You can have a great career a great marriage and be a great mother. The key is tapping into your best resource and most powerful ally--the man you married.
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.
From "baby boot camp" for new dads to exactly what to say when negotiating a leave with the boss this savvy book offers fresh ideas to today's families offering encouragement hope and confidence to any woman who has ever questioned her choices regarding work and family.
Winner of the Independent Publisher Award Gold Medal in Parenting
Synopsis
The Road Map to a Great Career, a Good Marriage and a Happy FamilySharon Meers and Joanna Strober are two working moms who believe that everyone wins when men are full parents and women have full careers. They know that families thrive not in spite of working mothers, but because of them. The key is tapping into your best resource and most powerful ally: your spouse. Whats the starting point? An attitude shift that puts you and your husband on the road to 50/50. Here are real-world solutions for parents who want to get ahead in their careers and still get to their childrens soccer games; strategies for working mothers facing gender bias in the workplace; advice to fathers new to the home front; and tips for finding 50/50 solutions to deal with issues of money, time and much more.
About the Author
Joanna Strober is Managing Director of a fund investing in private partnerships at Sterling Stamos, an investment firm in Silicon Valley and the founder of the "working stiffs" mom's group. As one of the few females in private equity in Silicon Valley, Strober has been featured in the front page of the
Wall Street Journal for launching several well known companies.
Sharon Meers leads global business development and sales for X.commerce, the open commerce platform of eBay, helping merchants grow with better technology. Formerly, Meers was a managing director at Goldman Sachs, where she worked for 16 years and was co-chair of the Women's Network in the Investment Management Division. She and her husband founded the Partners for Parity at Stanford Business School and the Dual-Career Initiative at Harvard.
Sheryl Sandberg is chief operating officer at Facebook. Prior to Facebook, she was vice president of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google and chief of staff at the U.S. Treasury Department. Sheryl lives in Menlo Park, CA, with her husband and their two children.
Table of Contents
Introduction Imagine a Full Life There's No Need to ChoosePart One The Good News About Work: Why Two Careers Are Better Than One
1. Mom and Dada: How Kids Can Get More from Two Working Parents
2. What Your Husband Wins from a Working Wife
3. What Women Gain from Working Motherhood
Part Two Three Truths to Bust the Myths About Work, Women, and Men
4. Women Don't Quit Because They Want To
5. Success Does Not Require 24/7
6. It's Not a Fair Game but You Can Improve Your Odds
Part Three The 50/50 Solution and How to Make It Yours
7. The Great Alliance: How Your Husband Solves the Work/Life Riddle
8. The Pre-Baby Road Trip: Mapping Out a Leave You Can Return From
9. The Post-Baby Uphill: Test-Driving 50/50 and Getting Back Up to Speed
10. Getting to 50/50: At Home, at Work, for Life
Resources
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index
About the Authors