FAIR SHAKE by Naomi Cahn, June Carbone and Nancy Levit (Red Families v. Blue Families) is a look at "Women and the Fight to Build a Just Economy" from three law professors and mothers. They divide their book into four main sections, looking at the triple bind that women face and finally suggesting ways to tame the "winner take all" (WTA) economy. First, they utilize case studies involving Wal-Mart, General Electric, and Bank of America to show that "when women don't compete on the same terms as men, they lose." Next, these scholars provide an excellent overview of "when women play by the same rules as the men, they lose" through the lens of case studies like Kleiner Perkins (see also Reset by Ellen Pao) and Wells Fargo. The third bind they describe as "when women see what the new rules are, they refuse to play the game" and illustrate how tech and other industries have pushed women out. While the authors readily acknowledge that issues like family responsibilities, occupational choices, risk aversion, and misogyny factor int the inequalities, they also note concerns about "the critical shift in the new economy ... [and] the ability of those at the top to take a much larger share of institutional resources for themselves." Most impressive are thoughts on fighting back and working to convert a WTA economy to one which benefits more people, especially women, children, and families. FAIR SHAKE is a well-organized, accessible text which covers numerous topics of interest to many of our students. More than a third of the text is devoted to notes or sources and Kirkus specifically comments on its "robust evidence for the need for systemic change."

This book was great and definitely an uplighting, yet sad reality, read for women's history month, if you like to read in themes like I do. I found myself having to stop and start on this book because of the genuine facts and stories that just had me feeling, and thinking, "when will this fight be over?" Fair Shake is reminiscent of Women in Data, in that it is both informative and disheartening at the same time. I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars for just being a good, factual read, but I can't give it 5 out of 5 because of the feelings it invoked inside of me.