Contents
ESSAYS
When We Were 9, We Were Honest By Carol Gilligan, Ph.D.
Gender Equality Is a Myth! By Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
Time to Wake Up: Stop Blaming Poverty on the Poor By Barbara Ehrenreich
Are Women Devalued by Religions? By Sister Joan Chittister
A Woman’s Place Is in the Middle Class
ESSAYS
The Gender Wage Gap: A Civil Rights Issue for Our Time By Maya Harris
Making the Care Economy a Caring Economy By Ai-jen Poo
Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Broke By Danielle Moodie-Mills
The Changing Face of American Women By Angela Glover Blackwell
Empowering Latinas By Eva Longoria
ESSAYS
America’s Working Single Mothers: An Appreciation By LeBron James
To the Brink and Back By Catherine Emmanuelle
Marriage and Children: Another View By Ron Haskins
What About the Fathers? By Dr. Kathryn Edin
A Call to Men: Ending Men’s Violence Against Women By Tony Porter
Women and Poverty: The Role of Lawyers and Family Law By John Bouman and Wendy Pollack
Evolution of the Modern American Family By Stephanie Coontz
Get Smart: A 21st Century Education
By Dr. Anthony P. Carnevale and Dr. Nicole Smith
ESSAYS
Turning Poverty Around: Training Parents to Help Their Kids By Jennifer Garner
Living the Head Start Dream By Almeta Keys
Afterschool Programs: Investing in Our Cities by Investing in Our Kids By Mayor Betsy Price
Higher Education: Interrupting the Cycle of Poverty By Eduardo J. Padrón, Ph.D.
PART II: WHY WE MUST PUSH BACK
The Consequences of Living on the Brink
ESSAYS
The Chronic Stress of Poverty: Toxic to Children By Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, M.D.
The Trap: Mental Illness and Women in Poverty By Ron Manderscheid, Ph.D.
Armed and Vulnerable: Women in the U.S. Military By Sonya Borrero, M.D.
Human Trafficking and Slavery in the United States: ‘You Don’t See the Chains’ By Jada Pinkett Smith
PART III: THE NATION REIMAGINED
ESSAYS
America’s Promise, One Woman at a Time By Marianne Cooper, Ph.D.
Putting Women at the Center of Policymaking
By Melissa Boteach and Shawn Fremstad, and introducing the Shriver Corps
ESSAYS
We Have Blown a Huge Hole in Our Safety Net By Peter Edelman
The Circle of Protection: Balancing the Budget Does Not Require Burdening the Poor By Leith Anderson
From VISTA Corps to Shriver Corps: Providing Solutions for 50 Years By Shirley Sagawa
A Hand Up, Not a Hand Out Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter
On the Brink with a Disabled Child By Katie Bentley
What If Employers Put Women at the Center of Their Workplace Policies?
By Ellen Galinsky, James T. Bond, and Eve Tahmincioglu, and introducing the Thrive Index
ESSAYS
Smart Business: Reviving the American Dream By Howard Schultz
Empower Women and You Recharge the World By Muhtar Kent
Microfinancing Women: Great Return on Investment By Tory Burch
Personal Action, Collective Impact
By Anne Mosle and introducing Life Ed
ESSAYS
When Working Women Thrive, Our Nation Thrives By Sheryl Sandberg
When Women Achieve Their Full Potential, So Will America By Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
PART IV: IT’S TIME TO PUSH BACK
By Olivia Morgan and Karen Skelton
10 Things You Can Do to Power A Woman’s Nation
Increasing Economic Opportunities for Women: The Right Thing to Do and the Smart Thing to Do
Failure to Adapt to Changing Families Leaves Women Economically Vulnerable
By Anna Greenberg, David Walker, Alex Lundry, and Alicia Downs