Rosie Revere, Engineer (Hardcover)
Rosie may seem quiet during the day, but at night she’s a brilliant inventor of gizmos and gadgets
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal – United States Declaration of Independence, 1776
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal – Seneca Falls Declaration, 1848
Do you ever wonder just how far women have come in the United States since World War II? Women in the workforce went from a necessity to an inconvenience to the norm in just decades and we are still trying to figure out if our nation is leaning in or just stressing out. I tend to think a lot of inequities we have in our workforce have more to do with a division and inflexibility of time of parents in a well established salaried work week that is culturally still skewed based on gender. I know that I have more interest as a mom with young children to be a good parent before anything else and that, sadly, seems to be the biggest disadvantage to women in the workforce in my opinion. It’s that middle portion of life of our child-rearing families that we in the United States can’t seem to figure out. How can families in the United States either; A) Have excellent and affordable childcare in our country so parents can have successful careers and children get excellent education or B) Make it so that parents who want to be the excellent and affordable childcare to their children before kindergarten (or beyond?) get support? Right now, we aren’t doing either option very well in this country and why we do not place more emphasis on family and early childhood education with work/life balance is quite baffling to me. I certainly do not know how to rectify these differences since I’m in it, too, and, besides, this is a children’s book review so perhaps I am getting a little off topic……
Rosie Revere, Engineer (based on Rosie the Riveter of WWII fame) is a children’s book that gets to the heart of the issue for children – especially girls- that they can achieve success in their desired field and that failures are not setbacks but part of learning. Do children – especially girls- really still need these books in the United States in the 21st century? Absolutely! Whether or not we like to admit it, we all have preconceived notions that can slant judgment and I think it is good to reinforce the idea that just because something is different or difficult doesn’t mean it isn’t worth doing to our kids. Can men be awesome stay at home parents? Can women be CEOs and presidents? Yes, yes and YES! Can Rosie be a successful engineer and build a plane for her Aunt Rose to fly? Through trial and error, yes, keep trying! Who am I to set your potential limits? Yes, I do realize that is a blanket statement, but please understand my overall point;
Words affect us. I still think about my old economics professor (who was an economist with Congress’ Joint Economic Committee that I had greatly admired) who embarrassed me in his history of econ class as the only female in a lengthy discussion of career choices before graduation by saying ‘women did not do well in the field of economics’ as if to discourage me from my field. I sometimes think about the context of his delivery because in some ways I did decide to take another route right after college due to the timing of those words-which completely changed my career outcome-, but I no longer regret it. I was not ready to go down a different or difficult road in my career at that time, but I want that option. I want us all to have that option. It would be great to get past the whole gender thing in our career choices and just say it is a human thing, but it doesn’t seem like we are there yet. However, all children need this message and to be proud in who they are. Learning is not based on gender and trying should be encouraged.
“You never fail until you stop trying.” ― Albert Einstein
Rosie Revere, Engineer (Hardcover)
List Price: $ 16.95
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