Equal Partners: Improving Gender Inequality at Home

Kate Mangino

______

Alice says:

This book is a great read for people who want to create more balanced, supportive, and equitable relationships. It’s especially helpful for people navigating household responsibilities, parenting roles, emotional labor, or conversations around fairness and partnership in long-term relationships

It encourages people to think critically about how gender roles, social expectations, and invisible labor can impact relationships. The book offers practical insight into what true partnership can look like and how couples can move toward more intentional and collaborative dynamics.

I really appreciate how this book is both validating and actionable. The author does a great job blending research, cultural observations, and real-life examples in a way that feels approachable rather than judgmental. I also liked that the book focuses on teamwork and communication instead of blame.

The book explores themes related to gender expectations, inequality in relationships, emotional labor, parenting dynamics, and societal norms. Some people may find parts of the discussion emotionally activating, particularly if these issues are a source of tension in their own relationships. The book may also challenge long-held beliefs about traditional relationship roles.

People can gain a better understanding of how relationship dynamics are shaped by both personal habits and larger cultural influences. The book encourages self-reflection, healthier communication, and more collaborative problem-solving, which can strengthen relationships and reduce resentment over time. It also helps normalize conversations around fairness, support, and shared responsibility in modern partnerships.

From the Publisher

From gender expert and professional facilitator Kate Mangino comes Equal Partners, an informed guide about how we can all collectively work to undo harmful gender norms and create greater household equity.

As American society shut down due to Covid, millions of women had to leave their jobs to take on full-time childcare. As the country opens back up, women continue to struggle to balance the demands of work and home life. Kate Mangino, a professional facilitator for twenty years, has written a comprehensive, practical guide for readers and their partners about gender norms and household balance. Yes, part of our gender problem is structural, and that requires policy change. But much of our gender problem is social, and that requires us to change.

Quickly moving from diagnosis to solution, Equal Partners focuses on what we can do, everyday people living busy lives, to rewrite gender norms to support a balanced homelife so both partners have equal time for work, family, and self. Mangino adopts an interactive model, posing questions, and asking readers to assess their situations through guided lists and talking points. Equal Partners is broad in its definition of gender and gender roles. This is a book for all: straight, gay, trans, and non-binary, parents and grandparents, and friends, with the goal to help foster gender equality in readers’ homes, with their partners, family and wider community.

About the Author

Kate Mangino is a gender expert, professional facilitator, and author specializing in gender equity and the evolving dynamics of modern partnerships and marriage. She is also the co-host of Equal-ish, the podcast devoted to the intersection of marriage, work, and parenting. Kate’s writing has appeared in Time, Slate, and the Harvard Business Review. Equal Partners has been featured in The Atlantic, CNN, The Washington Post, BBC World News, and The Guardian.

About Alice Davies

Alice is a psychotherapist based in Chicago Illinois.  She works with individuals, couples, and diverse relationship structures navigating dating, relationship conflict, breakups, attachment differences, communication struggles, financial stress, and questions about how to build healthier, more fulfilling connections. She uses a warm, collaborative, and practical approach grounded in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT) to help clients better understand relationship patterns, improve communication, and create meaningful change. Alice strives to create a space where clients feel understood, supported, and empowered to move forward with greater clarity and confidence.