Getting Me Cheap

September 12, 2022
Sociologists Freeman and Dodson (The Moral Underground) deliver a moving examination of how underpaid work, unsympathetic bureaucracies, and family survival strategies set working-class American women up for lives of hardship. Many of the 250 women the authors interviewed grew up in families struggling with poverty, and they were expected to contribute their time and earnings to help make ends meet. Funneled into easily available retail, service, and care jobs that offered irregular shifts, low wages, and no benefits or paid time off, these women had few chances to develop skills that would lead to more stable work. The mothers profiled—many of them single parents—constantly struggle to find and keep quality childcare and feel guilty about being unable to conform to middle-class parenting and professional ideals, even as they recognize that those standards were set by people with more money, benefits, and time. Also discussed are frustrations with welfare regulations and with educational programs that don’t provide the support necessary for women to be both a working mother and a student, as well as the fierce pride these women take in their abilities as mothers and caregivers. Though somewhat meandering, this empathetic and eye-opening study leaves a mark.

October 1, 2022
Two sociologists examine the many challenges facing "working poor women." Based on interviews and research conducted over the past 10 years, Freeman and Dodson, author of The Moral Underground: How Ordinary Americans Subvert an Unfair Economy, show the factors that place many women, particularly immigrants and women of color, in low-income positions--and often keep them there. The authors' shared goal in writing this book is to help these women "climb out of working poverty." The majority of the women have found employment in service industries, including food, health care, and child care. Many jobs in the service industry have unpredictable hours, leading to difficulty in finding consistent care for their own children. Additionally, most of these positions are low paying and lack benefits, requiring workers to take on multiple jobs to support their families, often on their own. In some cases, older children are required to assume household responsibilities for their families, sacrificing their own futures and contributing to this cycle of poverty. Many interviewees also believe that because they have children, they are at a further disadvantage. "Moms told us about the upheaval surrounding the birth of a child without leave, income, or accommodations to ease the transition home," write the authors. Furthermore, domestic workers caring for wealthy families often face racism and harassment from parents and children alike. Several of the interviewees relate that their paths to higher education, frequently needed for job advancement, have also been filled with obstacles. The authors clearly show how affluent women often become uncomfortable when considering how lower-income families live, choosing to donate rather than volunteer. While the book does tend to generalize the views and opinions of individuals, the authors' stance on advocating for others by encouraging policy change is convincing and sound. An insightful book that shines light on issues that should be better understood by any responsible citizen.

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October 15, 2022
Sociologists Freeman and Dodson write an illuminating primer placing the obstacles facing women with low-wage jobs at the forefront of intersectional feminism. The frontier of women's rights has largely focused on white, affluent women's issues, explain the authors, which does little to uplift working-poor women, the women who need it the most. In fact, because many affluent women rely on the care services performed by low-wage workers to "have it all," they end up perpetuating the poverty trap. The authors interviewed 250 low-income women over the course of 10 years. Using the testimony coupled with research and historical insights, they present a grim landscape and an inescapable system designed "to keep you down," where the women, most of them single mothers and most of them Black and brown, cannot get ahead and are asked again and again by family and society to sacrifice their potential and safety for others. A must-read for workers in the public-service sphere--including library staff--as invaluable insight into the communities they work and advocate for.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.