The traditional image of the stay-at-home mother didn’t emerge by chance. It was intentionally created by marketers and industry leaders to meet economic needs during America’s industrial boom.

In this episode, we uncover how economic forces, and deliberate cultural messaging crafted a myth of motherhood that pushed women out of paid work and into the home. This manufactured ideal still shapes workplaces and family expectations today. But what happens when reality doesn’t match the marketing?

Featuring Lisa Selin Davis, author of Housewife, Reshma Saujani, CEO of Moms First, Chris Herbst, professor at Arizona State University, Barbara J. Risman, PhD (University of Illinois Chicago), and journalist Josie Cox, author of Women, Money, Power.

Presented by WorkingNation, the nonprofit media platform focused on the future of work.

The traditional image of the stay-at-home mother didn&rsquo;t emerge by chance. It was intentionally created by marketers and industry leaders to meet economic needs during America&rsquo;s industrial boom. In this episode, we uncover how economic forces, and deliberate cultural messaging crafted a myth of motherhood that pushed women out of paid work and into the home. This manufactured ideal still shapes workplaces and family expectations today. But what happens when reality doesn&rsquo;t match the marketing? Featuring Lisa Selin Davis, author of Housewife, Reshma Saujani, CEO of Moms First, Chris Herbst, professor at Arizona State University, Barbara J. Risman, PhD (University of Illinois Chicago), and journalist Josie Cox, author of Women, Money, Power. Presented by WorkingNation, the nonprofit media platform focused on the future of work.

The Work Behind the Work is a WorkingNation podcast about why raising children in America has become so difficult, and what that reveals about our entire economy.

Hosted by WorkingNation executive producer and working mom Melissa Panzer, the series looks at how rising costs, lack of support, and cultural expectations are pushing families to the brink. Birth rates are falling. Care is unaffordable. And the long-term consequences are already unfolding.

This is not just a parenting problem. It is a national economic warning.

The Work Behind the Work is a WorkingNation podcast about why raising children in America has become so difficult, and what that reveals about our entire economy.
Hosted by WorkingNation executive producer and working mom Melissa Panzer, the series looks at how rising costs, lack of support, and cultural expectations are pushing families to the brink. Birth rates are falling. Care is unaffordable. And the long-term consequences are already unfolding.
This is not just a parenting problem. It is a national economic warning.