## Career and Family

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Career and Family](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2022/03/book-review-greedy-work-donner)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2022/03/book-review-greedy-work-donner/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2022/03/book-review-greedy-work-donner/index.json)
- [Bundle manifest](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2022/03/book-review-greedy-work-donner/bundle-manifest.json)

## Bibliographic details
- Authors: FRANCESCA DONNER
- Published: March 1, 2022

---

### Overview
- Review of Career & Family by Claudia Goldin as summarized by FRANCESCA DONNER, an executive editor at Quartz focusing on the future of work, women, and gender.
- Central argument: over the past century, women in the United States have made extraordinary gains in the world of work, expanding possibilities from mere jobs to careers for many women.

### Historical trends in women’s work and family choices
- A woman graduating in 1910 typically had to choose between a family and a career.
- In the 1920s and 1930s, many women worked for pay before going on to have children.
- The trend flipped in the 1950s as the marriage age dropped and women began their families earlier, often entering paid work later.
- The broad adoption of the birth control pill changed trajectories so that by the 1970s many women opted for a career first, sometimes at the expense of family.
- By the 1980s and 1990s, women were pursuing career and family at the same time.

### The gender pay gap and structural drivers
- Women’s earnings in the United States have been stuck somewhere between 77 cents and 82 cents for every dollar a man earns for 25 years.
- This aggregate figure masks larger disparities for women of color.
- Goldin’s diagnosis: attributing the pay gap solely to gender bias, sexism, negotiation skills, or occupational choice misses the central issue—“the very structure of work.”

### The “greedy work” concept
- Work is characterized as “greedy”: it demands time from employees, and greater time commitment is rewarded.
- In labor markets, firms pay more for staff willing and able to put in endless hours and to drop everything for deadlines.
- Time constraints become acute with family responsibilities—e.g., when a child requires attention, employees cannot match the time demands expected by greedy jobs.
- Client-facing white-collar professions (law, banking) still expect continuity—clients expect “their guy” to be available—making these sectors less accommodating to time constraints.

### Potential responses and examples
- One proposed solution is to incentivize or redesign industries where professionals can be easily substituted without loss of quality.
- Example: pharmacists—consumers do not need the same person to fill prescriptions each month, allowing scheduling flexibility.
- Contrast: many white-collar professions have not adopted substitutable models, perpetuating time-based penalties for caregivers.

### Key takeaways and implications
- Significant progress over the last century has not eliminated economic parity or gender equality.
- Structural redesign of work and industry practices is central to closing persistent earnings gaps tied to caregiving and time constraints.
- The core obstacle is that work demands more of a resource we cannot increase: time.

*F&D Magazine — “Greedy Work,” FRANCESCA DONNER, March 2022.*

---

## Content in this bundle

- **Book Donner P65**
  - [Book Donner P65 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/ar/book-donner-p65.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [Book Donner P65 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/ar/book-donner-p65.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **Greedy Work**
  - [Greedy Work (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/donner-books.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [Greedy Work (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/donner-books.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **Le travail, ce maître avide**
  - [Le travail, ce maître avide (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/fr/book1.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [Le travail, ce maître avide (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/fr/book1.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **Книжное обозрение – Финансы и развитие – Переосмысление бюджетных основ – март 2022 года**
  - [Книжное обозрение – Финансы и развитие – Переосмысление бюджетных основ – март 2022 года (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/ru/book-1.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [Книжное обозрение – Финансы и развитие – Переосмысление бюджетных основ – март 2022 года (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/ru/book-1.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **Trabajo codicioso**
  - [Trabajo codicioso (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/sp/books-page65-donner.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [Trabajo codicioso (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/sp/books-page65-donner.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **贪婪的工作**
  - [贪婪的工作 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/zh/book1.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [贪婪的工作 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/march/zh/book1.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2022/03/book-review-greedy-work-donner_