Womentality
Thirteen Empowering Stories by Everyday Women Who Said Goodbye to the Workplace and Hello to Their Lives
"This inspiring collection makes a strong case for how women can design their work lives to meet both personal and professional needs.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
Womentality: Thirteen Empowering Stories by Everyday Women Who Said Goodbye to the Workplace and Hello to Their Lives is a collection of powerful, personal essays from enterprising women around the world who came to the same realization: work shouldn’t have to be painful and demeaning. Armed with an internet connection and plenty of creativity and ingenuity, they prove that it is possible to redefine the nine-to-five work paradigm and create a flourishing career that is flexible and fulfilling outside the corporate structure.
The thirteen women—from diverse countries such as Uganda, Venezuela, Poland, Palestine, and the Philippines—approach independent work in different ways, but are all motivated by the same impulses—to escape the drudgery of office life, to have control of their time, and to enjoy the freedom of working for themselves. Importantly, many discover that—outside of the office—it is possible to triumph over global pay disparities that favor men.
Womentality is not a book about people who do not work—on the contrary, these women work hard and their stories illustrate how they overcame challenges to achieve their goals—whether they sought freedom to travel, to spend more time with the family, escape demeaning office politics, or simply to control their career.
The essays in Womentality prove that a life of independence is not reserved for elite, American workers. It is possible for anyone. As the women who contributed to Womentality can attest: escaping the nine-to-five life isn’t easy—it takes guts and persistence—but it’s absolutely worthwhile.
Erin Wildermuth is an economic philosopher with a master’s degree in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics. She seeks to explore how trends and technology can help people move from economic exploitation to economic independence. She first left the nine to five in 2011, negotiating a part-time, remote arrangement with her employer. Within a year she had moved to Thailand and quit her job to work as a freelance underwater photographer and videographer. She lived in Thailand for three years and has since since built a successful career as a freelance writer. Her work has appeared in such diverse publications as the Huffington Post, American Spectator, and Scuba Diver Magazine. She currently lives in Baltimore, MD.
