Wharton professor Corinne Low released a book on Tuesday on how women can maximize their economic, personal, and professional well-being.
The book — titled “Having It All: What Data Tells Us About Women’s Lives and Getting the Most Out Of Yours” — challenges gender norms and modern expectations of women. Low’s argument centers on how women have adapted to emerging roles in society, while the behavior of men has remained constant throughout history.
In a written statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian, Low emphasized her motivations for writing the book.
“I’d love young women to read this book, as it contains lots of practical advice I wish I’d had at that age,” Low wrote. “On how to choose a career that grows with you over your life, and a partner who can be co-CEO of the enterprise of having a household and a family.”
She added that the book serves as “somewhat of an answer” to Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In,” a 2013 book that also discusses the empowerment of women.
“For women in America today, the promise of ‘having it all’ is an ever-elusive carrot,” the online description of “Having it All” reads. “Faced with unsustainable demands in every sphere, we are certainly doing it all — but at a steep cost. Research shows that biologically, culturally, and economically, we are on uneven playing ground, and one that drains us of our happiness.”
According to Low, women have consistently prioritized the needs of others before their own. This trend, she writes in the book, leads to an increasing sense of helplessness and vulnerability.
“But that same data can empower us to make choices that will reclaim our time, our energy — and even our joy,” the book’s description continues.
Low’s book — based on her research — highlights how men “simply do not face the same level of complexity and potential repercussions when making major life decisions.” She notes that women experience more difficult decisions when exploring options for their careers, living situations, marriages, and children.
The book also mentions that balancing multiple obligations is often impractical. Low writes that women should encourage other women to put themselves first and redefine what success can look like.
Her thesis utilizes historical data from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Women’s participation in the workforce, for example, has increased between 1970 and 2024, leading to Low’s argument that a similar transformation could occur in the domestic sphere.
“We’ve had this gender revolution where now we can play the same role in the market as men," she writes in the book. "We can earn as much money as men, but we haven’t had a gender revolution at home."
