Fair Shake: Women and the Fight to Build a Just Economy

by Naomi Cahn, June Carbone, Nancy Levit

A stirring, comprehensive look at the state of women in the workforce—why women’s progress has stalled, how our economy fosters unproductive competition, and how we can fix the system that holds women back.

In the #MeToo era, when gender equality is at the forefront of the conversation, women are still falling behind in the workplace faster than ever before; this was true before COVID, and even more true after.

Fair Shake explains that the system that governs our economy—a winner-takes-all economy—is the cause. The WTA economy self-selects for aggressive, cutthroat business tactics, which creates a feedback loop that sidelines women. The book explores what legal scholars determine the “triple bind” including:
-If women don’t compete on the same terms as men they lose.
-If women do compete on the same terms as men, they lose.
-When women see that they can’t win on the same terms as men, they take themselves out of the game (if they haven’t been pushed out already).

Fair Shake offers a timely, practical view of women in the workforce today—what holds them back and what stops them from entering at all. Using legal cases throughout, Naomi Cahn offers rich, detailed storytelling to demonstrate how our laws fail to protect women. This book is the much-needed wake-up call to make the lasting changes required for gender equality in the workplace.

Genres: Nonfiction, Economics, Feminism, Womens

368 pages, Paperback

Published August 5, 2025

Reviews

[Brian Knox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Men: when we empower women within our organization, we ALL do better.

Let's not allow fragile egos to hinder economic progress.

Because economic progress takes us ALL up.

We, as a nation, are seriously discounting the benefits of Capitalism if we continue to have "boys clubs" that keep women down.

Don't take it from me. Check the data, read the book. Let's rise together!

[Tamika · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read. The authors have a unique ability to drill downs and simplify complex and extremely nuanced subject matter to make it understandable and easily accessible.

There is a combination of personal storytelling and generalized statistical information that illustrates the issues discussed really well. The personal stories stem from legal complaints though there is very little legalese in the book. That’s good generally but I would not have minded reading just a bit more about the legal issues/reasoning.

The authors also do a good job of tying things together and reminding reader of overall topic, and I appreciate that cultural considerations were taken into account.

I would really rate it 5 stars except that it felt a little like I was being hit over the head with statistics at the end when they had blended them so well in earlier portions of the book.

Overall enjoyed the book very much and I would recommend the book to everyone

[Astrid Kurniawan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised reading a book about the gender pay gap and discrimination that does not have thematic elements of LeanIn or fix women. Instead it calls for a systemic overhaul, a return to more collaborative and collective environment that was present in corporate America in the 1950s, while including women and minoritized persons. The authors' argument that in this winner take all (WTA) environment is set up to fail women, mirrors the anecdotal experiences of women I have spoken to. There is no winning as women are 1) generally unaware of the unwritten rules required to succeed in this cutthroat environment 2) those who are, and pursue the WTA game, are going to be punished more severely, serving as scapegoats when companies are investigated 3) not to mention that those who do learn about the game are more likely to be ethical and unwilling to play the game and expend others, and therefore take themselves out of the competition altogether, which result in fewer and fewer women at the top levels and reinforces the notion that women are not cut out to hold leadership roles.
I wish the authors would expand this a bit more to talk about how this brain drain is a disservice for the industry and society as a whole. What underscored the experience of all of these women who filed complaints, lawsuits, and eventually exited, are their high performance. Many of them were the best and brightest in their field, pushed out and now society is certainly worse off for it as they no longer contribute their expertise into the fields they entered and often not by choice but because of the perception of being difficult when they asked for accountability also pushes them out of their field. Further, it is also highly unlikely that without having gone through the traumatic experience that they did, they would have spontaneously switched careers.
The authors' conclusion that collective action is the key to making changes in the system is not novel as systemic oppression can only be combated through collective action. However, I really appreciated the detail that they went into in terms of practical actions, speaking about removal of mandatory arbitration clauses, NDAs etc. from the legal perspective to enable women to speak out regarding their experiences.

[Claire Binkley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was OK. The link is my blogpost in which I thought about whether I wanted to keep it or not.

What is "just?" This book describes how some women have been trying to win the right for equality for all regardless of gender.

Personally, I don't actually know what it is like in reality to be male, but it seems like my male friends have some interesting playthings, so I have made some male story characters and that seemed to be okay.

I studied what it meant to be just in fall 2007, as women and minorities are not routinely treated this way everywhere in the world. I hope that with this work and many others, it is slowly getting better.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought provoking, clearly laid out, and compelling. The authors leverage summaries of legal battles within the corporate world that define how women have been institutional victims of an economy set up to pit individual workers against each other in a “Winner Take All (WTA)” competition that enriches only the rich and powerful. The conclusion offers suggestions on how we can collectively work towards a more just economy. Great read.

[Shari Suarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A look at the state of women in the workforce and why the gender pay gap isn't shrinking.
The authors take a look at three different reasons for why women aren't thriving in the workplace complete with examples and research studies. It's easily readable and will give you so much to think about.

[Elizabeth]

As heard on The Indicator from Planet Money:
https://www.npr.org/2024/05/14/119796...

[Miriam - mved 2 Storygraph! B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book, ideas, some of the examples were long and draining.

[Katie ratherbereadinggg · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

[Ruby Mae · Rating 4 out of 5]

very well-written, descriptive and understandable, a little out of my personal sphere of interest but still intriguing.

[Ruby · Rating 4 out of 5]

very well-written, descriptive and understandable, a little out of my personal sphere of interest but still intriguing.