Taking On the Big Boys: Or Why Feminism Is Good for Families, Business, and the Nation [Paperback]

Ellen Bravo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2007

“Please, please, please. All working women must read this book! Ellen Bravo not only vividly exposes workplace inequities, she gives real-life solutions, picking up where my film 9 to 5 left off.”—Jane Fonda

Enough about “breaking the glass ceiling.” Here are blueprints for a redesign of the entire building, ground up, to benefit women and men—and even the bottom line.

The feisty humor of Molly Ivins and the journalistic flair of Barbara Ehrenreich meet when longtime labor activist Ellen Bravo relates stories from business and government and women’s testimonies from offices, assembly lines, hospitals, and schools. Bravo unmasks the patronizing, trivializing, and minimizing tactics employed by “the big boys” and their surrogates: They portray feminism as women against men, and they dismiss as outrageous demands for pay equity, family leave, and flex time. Practical tips on everything from dealing with a sexual harasser to getting family members to share chores (and build equal relationships) enliven many chapters.

Bravo argues for feminism as a system of beliefs, laws, and practices that fully values women and work associated with women, while detailing activist strategies to achieve a society where everybody—women and men—reach their potential.

A former director of 9 to 5, National Association of Working Women, and a recipient of a Women of Vision Award from the Ms. Foundation, Ellen Bravo lectures nationwide and teaches women’s studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She wrote The Job/Family Challenge: A 9to5 Guide (Not for Women Only) and is the co-authored The 9to5 Guide To Combating Sexual Harassment.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

A longtime player in the women's labor movement, Bravo makes the case that feminism is not only good for women but also families, business, and the country. She relates stories from business and government that "unmask" the situations that patronize and trivialize women's contributions to the workplace. Identifying the "big boys" as those who strive to maintain the status quo, the author argues for feminism as a system of beliefs, laws, and practices that fully values women and their work. She also provides activist strategies for readers to help achieve a society where both men and women are able to reach their full potential. Although there may still be work to do in terms of women's equality in the workplace, the strident feminisms of the 1970s seems out of place in today's society, albeit one where there are few females CEOs and even fewer females on corporate boards. As a 20-year director of the feminist organization 9 to 5, the author gives us a liberal dose of feminist history as she tries to reframe the old debates. Gail Whitcomb
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Ellen Bravo is a long-time activist, author, and former director of 9 to 5, the National Association of Working Women. A well-known speaker, she has been described as "moving, witty, and sometimes bawdy." Bravo teaches Women's Studies at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. She and her husband, a high school teacher, raised two sons.

Product Details

• Paperback: 294 pages
• Publisher: The Feminist Press at CUNY (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558615458
• ISBN-13: 978-1558615458
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #341,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read! July 19, 2007

By Barbara

Format:Paperback

I loved this book. In an accessible and entertaining way, Bravo explains how the "Big Boys" operate to maintain the status quo and then, more importantly, describes how change can be and is being made. It reenergizes and inspires those who have worked for years on issues like equal pay, welfare, sexual harassment and balancing work and family. It is also invaluable for those to whom these issues are less familiar. Particularly for young women who are just being faced with sex discrimination for the first time, this book helps illustrate how the Big Boys affect their lives (not just that of their mothers and fathers) and how they have the ability to fight back. And the book is fun to read! Bravo has had so much experience and so many experiences that really make the discussion come alive, instead of being just theoretical.

5.0 out of 5 stars The life of a woman February 26, 2013

By Monique

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I choose this rating because I enjoyed the book and how it was told from a woman point of view.
There were ample of things that talked about how women were treated and lived a life under the BIG BOYS.
I like the way they also compared a woman life to the roles of the BIG BOYS and came to find out that women have a tougher job then men.
I would recommend this book to all the womens. They can read about how a woman went through a life that was not as fitting to her extent, but so happen to still live a happy life.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Taking on the Big Boys September 4, 2007

By Leslie Rabine

Format:Paperback

Taking on the Big Boys answers - finally! - the one question that students, staff people at my university, and audiences at feminist gatherings most frequently ask: "We know about the injustices working women face," they say, "but what can we do to change it?" Writing with wit, anger, compassion and joy, Ellen Bravo tells the stories of women who have banded together to wrest victories from the top guns who profit from their labor in business and government. Drawing from her own experiences and those of the many, many people she worked with during her years as a feminist labor organizer and long-time director of 9-to-5, National Association of Working Women, Bravo recounts their successful struggles for pay equity, child care, welfare rights, parental leave, health care, quality family time, and equality in the home. In Bravo's writing, all of these issues reclaim a fresh urgency as essential building blocks for a socially just society: "We have to do more than smash the glass ceiling - we have to redesign the building," she says. What makes this book such a page-turner is that it works on many levels at once. Every chapter is packed with factual information, as Bravo uses surprising statistics to shatter the myths the Big Boys and their mass-media buddies have concocted to justify gender discrimination. The narratives recount tragic injustices toward working women and inspiring victories. There are plenty of practical, creative, effective - and hilarious - strategies for taking on bosses, legislators, and government bureaucrats. All of this is wrapped in accessible and succinct progressive feminist theory that clarifies how a small class of "Big Boys" can profit from discriminating against women, and how we can change all that.