Which is funny, because nowadays wives are usually women too. In the olden days, wives were usually women. Whether they’re men or women, though, the main thing wives are is a cracking professional asset.

So if we really want to change the world so that women and men are equally like to succeed in business, you need to change the world so that women and men are equally likely to be ‘wives’.Ī ‘wife’ can be male or female. But fundamentally Crabb’s argument is that in the open competition in the full-time workplace, having someone at home working part-time, or not at all, to manage the house and the children gives you a huge advantage in the workplace. I read it in a sitting, right in the middle of a busy working week. Crabb’s writing style is very engaging, which means I tend to read it too fast to engage critically with the argument. And I have read enough books about the intersection of feminism, motherhood and women in the workplace that I have a dedicated shelf of them at home.Īnd this book didn’t disappoint. I’ve been a fan of Annabel Crabb’s writing since she wrote sketches in the SMH about the 2007 election. When I heard about this book, I knew I had to have it. Today’s review is of The Wife Drought, by Annabel Crabb, Australian political writer and commentator.

The Wife Drought by Annabel Crabb