The Fix: Overcome the Invisible Barriers That Are Holding Women Back at Work
Michelle P. King
Atria Books/An imprint of Simon & Schuster (March 2020)

“Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.”   Margaret Mead

Michelle King agrees with Margaret Mead. In the Introduction, with precision as well as eloquence, she creates a context, a frame of reference, for the material she provides in the chapters that follow:

“This book is an introduction to the numerous invisible barriers all women face throughout their careers because organizations are not designed for difference. And that’s a true problem, because our differences are not barriers to overcome, they are what make us remarkable. We deserve the freedom to be ourselves at work and to be appreciated for this. This is inequality. It’s also freedom. Gender inequality at work is a problem for all of us. This means that your fight is my fight. Equality is not about women, and it is not about men; it is about making workplaces work for everyone.”

I agree with King that there are “invisible barriers” that function in many of the same ways as do “electric fences” that limit the movement of livestock as well as pets, especially dogs. The fences prevent them from roaming into harm’s way, however, whereas the barriers on which King focuses prevent or at least discourage women from pursuing opportunities for personal growth and professional opportunity.

These are among the passages of greatest interest and value to me, also listed to suggest the scope of King’s rigorous coverage:

o Fixing Something That Isn’t Broken (Pages 3-13)
o Brief history of organizations (28-44)
o Meritocracy myth in negotiations (30-32)
o Don Draper ideal (32-37)
o Sexism (48-53 and 63-64)

o Gender inequality (49-50, 92-94, 99-100, 112-113, 135-140, 215-216, 249-252, 257-259, and 267-269)
o WAL-MART: The Largest Case of Sexism at Work (59-60)
o Workplace culture issues (85-101)
o Conformity bind (96-97)
o Three phases of gender inequality: Briefings ( 96-97, 97-98, and 98-100)

o Barriers to gender equality in Achievement Phase (105-!47)
o Conditional expectations (106-113z)
o Barriers to gender equality in Endurance Phase (147-185)
o BEST BUY: The Case for Family-Friendly Leaders (164-165)
o Barriers in to gender equality in Contribution Phase (187-246)

I also want to let you know about seventeen invaluable mini-commentaries on how to avoid or overcome major barriers to women at work.

Here are three:

“The Fix” for barriers to carrying your share of the load (183-184)
“The Fix” for barriers to valuing different leadership behaviors (208-209)
“The Fix” for barriers to owning the problem (215-216)

The dos and don’ts that King recommends in these mini-commentaries — all by themselves — are worth far more than the price of this book.

To repeat, “invisible barriers” function in many of the same ways as do “electric fences” that limit the movement of livestock as well as pets, especially dogs. The fences prevent them from roaming into harm’s way. However, the barriers on which Michelle King focuses prevent or at least discourage women from pursuing opportunities for personal growth and professional opportunity.

Everyone knows they are there. That’s the WHAT. In this book, business leaders can learn HOW to eliminate them. Here’s my question for them: If not now, when?