Mona Harrington

In the following viewpoint, Mona Harrington argues that day care is necessary for most families with two working parents. Increased numbers of women in the workplace contributed to women’s equality but also weakened the country’s child-care system by eliminating the free care that stay-athome mothers provided. Harrington argues that this free care must be replaced by a national caretaking system that provides quality child care and maintains equality between the sexes. Harrington is a political scientist and the author of Care and Equality: Inventing a New Family Politics.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to the author, how was Zoe Baird typical of many professional women?
2. As stated by Harrington, why are women in low-paying jobs worse off in terms of child care than women in high-paying jobs...