Caregiving Ambition

Humans have always been caregivers. Yet caregiving for children, the sick, and the elderly is shockingly undervalued and underaccommodated. Given how little value is placed on caregiving, the work-life movement has been stalled for decades, stuck on women and their children like a skipping record. There are more women in the workforce, but not significantly more in the top leadership positions. Most importantly, many women— and increasingly some men—experiencetheir efforts to have careers and care for dependents as a battle against themselves or their own wellbeing. Most of this conversation is centered on helping mothers succeed in the workplace, with little attention to how we think about caregiving more broadly.Commonly construed as a duty, obligation, or responsibility, caregiving is, for many people, something very different: a goal, a desire, an ambition. Society's failure to acknowledge caregiving as an ambition on par with career aspirations has created real consequences, including a troubling lack of caregiving for each other, stubborn gender gaps in leadership, and widespread dissatisfaction with life. This evidence-based, reflective, and practical book on caregiving ambition pushes beyond the"mommy wars" that divide women, and increasingly men, by how they care, uniting them instead on why and how much they care. Through firsthand quantitative and qualitative empirical research, plus a wealth of research reviewed, the authors bring together psychological theories and cutting-edge management research to illuminate how ignoring caregiving as an ambition perpetuates the status quo. This book shows the path forward: an honest discussion about caregiving ambition will make our individual and collective lives more humane, caring, and productive.

Most of us have aspirations far beyond building successful careers—we want first and foremost to do right by the people we love. Bear and Pittinsky make the compelling case that it's time to rethink ambition to include the motivation to care for our families., Thank goodness for a new, creative approach to managing caregiving and career ambitions in the same (very busy) life. This book is thoughtful, well-researched, and downright practical., A truly indispensable guide to understanding and succeeding in career and caregiving, full of essential advice you simply won't find anywhere else., Finally what we need to hear about something no one wants to talk about: women's and men's ambition, not only for work, but caregiving, too... sharp diagnosis and honest, workable real-world remedies., Here's a book for those who want to accomplish great things in their careers while nurturing and caring for their families with just as much ambition. Bear and Pittinsky touch a third rail of women at work, gender gaps in leadership, and diversity, equity and inclusion: loved ones and caring are anchors, not dead weights.

Julia B. Bear is Associate Professor of Management in the College of Business at Stony Brook University (SUNY). She received her Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Carnegie Mellon University. Her research focuses on the influence of gender on negotiation processes and outcomes, as well as understanding gender gaps in organizations more broadly. Todd L. Pittinsky is a Professor of Technology and Society at Stony Brook University (SUNY) and a faculty fellow of the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College. Previously he was on the faculty of Harvard University, where also served as the Director of Research for the Harvard Kennedy School's Center for Public Leadership. He received his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Harvard University.