I haven’t heard AMS saying anything that those interested in this issue haven’t been saying for a long time: we need to improve the work/family balance. The reality is that this is a difficult lift and I don’t see her giving any concrete ways to change things. In her own life, she chose to opt out of a great job due to her family needs (no judgement, but that is what she did). I don’t see what systemic changes could have been made that would have changed her decision.
In today’s incredibly competitive job market, it is difficult to have both parents try to balance family with work. Typically one partner focuses on work, the other on family with work as the secondary piece of a full like. That person is most often the woman and, let’s be honest here, most of us took that option because we wanted to be the one home with the kids, even part-time. And of course, most women have no choice but to work while raising their children in order to meet family needs.
The other issue for many families is that just at the point when the kids are in school full time or when the care-giver parents has gone back to work, mom and dad need help. This is an even more difficult challenge as there is less support for changing work schedules to care for parents and a wide range of needs. We had to hire someone to help my parents during the week and then spent time with them on the weekends.