Anne-Marie Slaughter Discusses Unfinished Business

In her new book, Anne-Marie discusses what true equality between men and women really means, and how we can get there. “The real equality between men and women would mean all men and all women would have an equal opportunity to earn an income and pursue their self-interests and to take care of those they love.” She uncovers the missing piece of the puzzle, presenting a new focus that can reunite the women’s movement and provide a common banner under which both men and women can advance and thrive.

In 2009 Anne-Marie Slaughter was appointed to hold her “dream” job, the director of policy planning for the U.S. State Department. She was the first woman to hold that job. In 2012 Anne-Marie wrote an op-ed article on The Atlantic titled “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All,” which was motivated by her first few months as the director of policy planning. The article sparked a nation-wide conversation and led to her latest book, “Unfinished Business”.

After leaving the State Department and returning to an academic career that gave her more time to spend with her family, Anne-Marie has pushed forward, breaking free of her long-standing assumptions about work, life, and family. “I’ve spent three years thinking about what we have to do to get to real male-female equality.”

Though many solutions have been proposed for how women can continue to break the glass ceiling or rise above the “motherhood penalty,” women at the top and the bottom of the income scale are further and further apart.

With moving personal stories, individual action plans, and a broad outline for change, Anne-Marie reveals a future in which all of us can finally finish the business of equality for women and men, work and family.