Q&A: Jessica Calarco on ‘how women became America’s safety net’

Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Compared with its economic peers, the United States lacks social safety net programs like sick time, vacation time and health care. For decades, American women have filled the gaps, to the detriment of both themselves and their families, according to sociologist Jessica Calarco, who studies inequalities in family life and education. In an interview with The Associated Press, Calarco discusses her book, “Holding It Together: How Women Became America’s Safety Net.” She also explains why women in the U.S. bear the brunt of prohibitively expensive high-quality daycare, limited government assistance and inaccessible paid maternal leave in the wake of the pandemic and beyond.