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Unlevel Playing Fields: Understanding Wage Inequality and Discrimination (3rd Edition), Randy Albelda, Robert Drago, and Steven Shulman (Economic Affairs Bureau, Inc., 2010, $34.95 paperback)
This recently updated textbook provides an accessible and informative introduction to economic theories about discrimination in the American workplace. The authors supply a detailed comparison between the neoclassical and political economy approaches to explaining the marketplace in general and wage inequality in particular. With a range of historical and hypothetical examples, they illustrate how each theory builds on and reinforces a particular world view—such as the belief that capitalism will eventually eliminate all forms of inefficiency (including inequity), or the idea that discrimination stems from systems that will not change without political pressure. Several chapters conclude with thought-provoking discussion questions that encourage readers to imagine how the book’s content applies to their lives.
The authors’ analysis is particularly useful as an introduction to economic theory for readers with no prior knowledge of the subject area. Within this context, it might be a promising addition to an introductory economics course or the library of an interested novice. While the authors focus narrowly on how economic inequity affects American blacks and women, their analysis is a thought-provoking introduction that can and should spur readers to seek more information about other identity groups and the intersections among them. As an introductory textbook, Unlevel Playing Fields is an illuminating read.
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The Next Generation of Women Leaders: What You Need to Lead but Won’t Learn in Business School, Selena Rezvani (Praeger, 2010, $29.95 hardcover)
This recent publication from consultant Selena Rezvani is full of compelling and constructive advice for up-and-coming women leaders. Drawing from interviews with thirty prominent women business executives, Rezvani has compiled a concise summary of tips that women too often don’t add to their toolboxes until the later stages of their careers. Written specifically for young women in business, many of the book’s instructions apply more broadly to any young woman hoping to make her mark professionally. Although some of the advice may seem evident to more seasoned professionals, the book will no doubt be useful to its target audience: the next generation of women leaders.
Rezvani’s focus on the need for authenticity in one’s career is particularly compelling. Linking professional success to the ability to be one’s whole self in the workplace, Rezvani stresses that individuals should identify their values and locate workplaces that offer a good fit. By underscoring these intuitive processes and presenting a holistic view of work and life, Rezvani offers a refreshing approach to finding personal and professional fulfillment. Although her focus on individual agency sometimes obscures the scope of structural issues that can limit women’s advancement, her advice is practical and affirming. The book is a must-read for women just beginning their careers, as well as for those searching for their next steps.
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The Intersectional Approach: Transforming the Academy through Race, Class, and Gender, Michele Tracy Berger and Kathleen Guidroz, Eds. (University of North Carolina Press, 2009, $22.95 paperback)
Pioneered over two decades ago by groundbreaking theorists like Kimberlé Crenshaw, the language of “intersectionality” has become a kind of lingua franca in many sectors of the academy. Yet as editors Michele Tracy Berger and Kathleen Guidroz illustrate, much of its potential for theory and practice continues to be unrealized. This reflective and intentional volume explores intersectionality’s past misuses, significant contributions, and unfulfilled promise. The collection critiques some of the problematic ways that the approach has been used to “flatten” rather than affirm difference. At the same time, it suggests how an intersectional analysis has influenced and could more deeply affect work in a range of disciplines, including anthropology, literature, sociology, and, of course, women’s studies.
By exploring intersectionality on a number of levels—from metacritical analysis to on-the-ground implementation—the volume provides a sense of the many modes in which an intersectional critique can operate. Some of the most moving essays come from writers who share how intersectionality helped them understand their lived experiences, and their contributions illustrate how an intersectional approach can surface the deeply personal connections that are often invisible in academic analysis. Drawing from classic essays and a wide selection of new works, the collection both codifies the development of the field and contributes to its growth. As it looks back on intersectionality’s past and gestures toward its future, the volume invites others to join a circle of transformational praxis.
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