Having It All (What Data Tells Us About Women's Lives and Getting the Most Out of Yours)

You’re not imagining it: Women aren’t getting a good deal at home or at work. We have the evidence to prove it. This book gives you the power to change it.

For women in America today, the promise of “having it all” is an ever-elusive carrot. Faced with unsustainable demands in every sphere, we are certainly doing it all—but at a steep cost. Research shows that biologically, culturally, and economically, we are on uneven playing ground, and one that drains us of our happiness. But that same data can empower us to make choices that will reclaim our time, our energy―and even our joy.

In Having It All, Wharton professor and economist Dr. Corinne Low unpacks the hidden factors that influence women’s decision-making, and how the unintended consequences of these choices alter the course of our lives. From when and whether to get married and (or) have children to what type of career to pursue, whether to obtain an advanced degree to where to live—Dr. Low explores questions such as:

• What if there is no optimal time to “have a family” but rather a slew of different considerations at different life stages?
• What if we approached decisions around marriage and partnership as rigorously as we would an employment opportunity?
• What if we valued our time in dollars and cents, and structured our lives around choices that give us the greatest return on our investments?

For too long, women have been expected to accept labor-intensive solutions to systemic problems—optimize, lean in, work harder. But Dr. Low isn’t suggesting women need to do more. In the tradition of bestselling books like Eve Rodsky’s Fair Play and Emily Oster’s Cribsheet, Having It All blends personal experience, research, and analysis to illuminate the complex decisions women face, and offers an evidence-based framework for creating a better, happier life. Consider it the essential economics textbook for life as a woman—but hopefully, a little more fun.