cover image A Uterus Is a Feature, Not a Bug: The Working Woman’s Guide to Overthrowing the Patriarchy

A Uterus Is a Feature, Not a Bug: The Working Woman’s Guide to Overthrowing the Patriarchy

Sarah Lacy. Harper Business, $26.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-06264-181-6

Business journalist Lacy (Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good) offers women statistical evidence of what they already know: that workplaces are discriminatory and women are getting a bad deal. Her central thesis is that working moms don’t have to choose between career and kids, but instead can use their parenting skills to improve their job performance. The argument is sound, but Lacy’s advice is superficial and scant and her story seems to contradict rather than support her opinions. In recounting her experiences as the founder of the news site Pando and mother of two children, Lacy comes across as reckless—disregarding warnings against traveling to a dangerous country for an assignment because “I don’t tend to respond well when someone tells me I can’t do something”—and hypocritical, willing to tolerate a workplace bully only as long as someone else was the victim. Her comment “I sit for a moment, every morning... and just savor my smug satisfaction” is illustrative of her tone. Her story seems to suggest that women can have a career and children if they’re willing to sacrifice their personal lives and even hygiene—at one point, her showers are being scheduled by a personal assistant. Chapters about gender equality in Iceland and China add heft, but make the book feel disjointed. Agent: Jim Levine, Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency. (Nov.)