Pedulla, D. S. (2016). Penalized or protected? Gender and the consequences of nonstandard and mismatched employment histories. American Sociological Review , 81(2), 262–289.
Munsch, C. L. (2016). Flexible work, flexible penalties: The effect of gender, childcare, and type of request on the flexibility bias. Social Forces , 94(4), 1567–1591. shipman 2009 word format
Shipman’s primary argument in Womenomics (Shipman & Kay, 2009) rested on three observable trends. First, she noted that a growing number of highly educated women were voluntarily leaving or reducing their participation in full-time corporate careers, not due to lack of ambition, but because of rigid workplace cultures. Second, she argued that the 2008-2009 recession had fundamentally shifted corporate power dynamics, making employers more receptive to flexible work arrangements as a cost-saving and talent-retention strategy. Third, she proposed a new definition of success: one where women could “write their own rules” by negotiating for results-oriented work, telecommuting, and alternative career paths without apologizing for prioritizing family or personal well-being. Pedulla, D
From a methodological standpoint, Shipman’s work in 2009 drew heavily on interviews with hundreds of professional women, combined with macroeconomic analysis. Critics have noted that her sample was predominantly white, college-educated, and affluent—a limitation that Shipman acknowledged but defended as a starting point for studying women with the most bargaining power. If even these women struggled to achieve balance, she reasoned, the systemic barriers were undeniable. This transparency about her sample’s scope adds credibility, though subsequent researchers (e.g., Pedulla, 2016) have rightly extended her findings to working-class and minority women, revealing additional layers of constraint. Penalized or protected
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Assessing the contemporary relevance of Shipman’s 2009 framework, one finds both vindication and evolution. The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2022 dramatically accelerated remote and hybrid work, making Shipman’s advocacy for telecommuting and results-only work environments seem prescient. By 2024, over 40% of U.S. jobs with a college degree offered some form of flexible arrangement (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023). Furthermore, the “Great Resignation” saw women leaving jobs in record numbers, often citing burnout and inflexible cultures—exactly the dynamic Shipman warned about fifteen years earlier.
