There’s a lot of context behind this, which you can see in this YouTube video of mine, but here’s the essence of the thought.

Back when women wanted to enter the workforce, they were ticked off that men were making tons of money, wielding a bunch of power, and self-congratulating themselves with medals and life achievement awards. A man goes to war and takes a hit, he gets a special commendation; a woman gives birth and gets to make breakfast every day. Note this.

The solution was not to bring women into the workforce and continuing to value family-building at zero, as was done, but to begin to value family-building for the vital contribution to communities, cities, and nations that it was (and is). Especially in the days of remote work and shortened workweeks, women and men who want the option of more flexibility and time spent with their families should be able to find fruitful work.

Smart companies would begin offering “working parent” contracts that offer less remuneration but a great deal more freedom. Having a PhD on staff for twenty hours a week while she raises two kids will likely create room for emergent value.

For myself, as a result of some disability-related issues, it’s hard for me to leave my house and I need to be wrapped in a blanket (or wearing a shawl) most of the time. Although I have a lot of experience in startup marketing and some sales, I now have a remote role where I just focus on pumping out great written content for people. It fits my needs, it fits my clients’ needs, and that’s capitalism. The problem is that people are afraid to innovate, largely because Human Resources has been standardizing everyone for efficiency and to prevent, ironically, equity-based kvetching.

Perhaps the solution is to realize that not everyone is the same and wants the same things, and that instead of creating elaborate systems, we should empower both companies and individuals to find the employment arrangements that work best for them.