HOLDING IT TOGETHER

Historical analysis of how women have always been America’s de facto social safety net.

Sociology professor Calarco makes an evidenced-based argument about how women have been holding America together for decades, receiving little recognition or credit in comparison to their male counterparts. Drawing on 4,000 surveyed parents and five years of research, the author demonstrates the American tradition of relying on women to hold society together, forced to do the dirty work and bear the weight of a deeply flawed system. Calarco reveals that the U.S. continues to sell and push the neoliberal narrative throughout the country, instilling the idea that profit is the highest priority and that the state should stay out of it. The author chronicles the eye-opening stories of many people who have endured the worst of the system, including a single mother who struggles to stretch her meager state benefits while working three jobs and caring for her children; a daughter who became her family’s supplemental income foundation as a result of the opioid crisis. “Without a net, societies crumble,” writes the author. “That’s why people in the US are more depressed, more sick, and more likely to die young than people in other high-income countries. It’s why we work longer hours but produce less. Why we have a higher poverty rate…why we have more political unrest.” The lack of a net allows the broken system to continue to claim victims, more often than not leaving women to take on the grunt work. Calarco leaves readers to contemplate the many solutions mentioned throughout the book, from universal health care and child care to funding for agencies to assist the elderly. The author consistently emphasizes that it is a systemic issue, requiring a community response to be effective.

Filled with heart and engaging research, this book offers new light on an ongoing nationwide problem.