Do you believe equity has finally come to the workplace; that women are now being treated equally with men in business today? This episode of the Lean to the Left podcast features Dr. Regina Lark, author of the new book, Emotional Labor: Why a Woman’s Work Is Never Done and What to Do About It. In the interview, conducted by Lean to the Left host Bob Gatty and Mark M. Bello, host of the Justice Counts podcast, Dr. Lark traces developments over the years that were intended to close the male-female work equity gap, and explains why inequality still exists and what can be done about it. She also blasts efforts by Republicans to interfere with women's reproductive health, ban books, and attack the LGBTQ+ community. Their stacking of the U.S. Supreme Court with three conservative justices during the Trump administration while refusing to even consider President Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland was "despicable," she contends. In 2008, before founding her 7-figure company, Dr. Regina Lark excelled in a career in higher education. When budget cuts eliminated her position at UCLA at age 50, Regina started over and created A Clear Path from scratch. Today, Lark and her ninja organizers provide professional physical, emotional, and psychological support to people who wish to clear clutter and chaos from their lives. Dr. Lark holds a Ph. D. in Women’s History from the University of Southern California. She helps women rid their lives of emotional labor by offering concrete ways to identify and mitigate the costs of women’s unseen, unnoticed and unwaged work at home, and to unleash women into the full potential in the paid workplace. She delivers keynote addresses, retreats and corporate speaking engagements on women’s leadership, emotional labor, time management, productivity, hoarding and ADHD. Dr. Lark also is the author of Psychic Debris, Crowded Closets: The Relationship Between the Stuff in Your Head, and What’s Under Your Bed. Here some questions we discussed with Dr. Lark: Mark: Quite the resume. Bob and I are proud to have you on our show. This is 2023 and this is a show about justice and injustice. Historically, women have not been treated equally in the workplace. However, here we are, almost a quarter into the 21st Century. Women have finally achieved equality in the workplace, right? Bob: You’ve often used the term “household management.” What is it and why is it considered “women’s work?” And, if you can, please give our audience some historical context. Mark: You also use the term “emotional labor,” especially in your Ted Talk. Please define the term in the context of the inherent inequities women still face in the workplace. Bob: How is emotional labor performed at home? What does it look like? Mark: The saying goes “a woman’s work is never done.” Is that still true? And, if so, what can society do about it? Bob: What are some reasons for the unequal distribution of work in the home? Are men inherently better at certain things and women better at others? Mark: If you could wave a magic wand, how would you create equity in your own household and in society’s unequal, unjust workplace? Bob: If couples and their children thought of their home as a business, would the structure and delegation of the work inside the home change? If so, how? Mark: A person out there is what society still calls a “stay at home Mom.” She’s frustrated by the burdens of Emotional Labor. What can she do to stop the never-ending cycle? Bob: Why is delegating and outsourcing so integral to lifting the burden of emotional labor? Mark: How do we become better delegators? Mark: I believe that men have had since the beginning of time their chance to rule the world and they’ve screwed it up. It is high time for woman to ascend to the throne—I believe that will do a far better job. Is that possible sometime soon? Is there any hope for true equality or a world led by women?
