Sociology in Action
Holding It Together: How Women Became America's Safety Net
Guest Speaker
Dr. Jessica Calarco, Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
and the author of Holding it Together: How Women Became America鈥檚 Safety Net (Portfolio/Penguin, 2024)
Event Details
Tuesday, February 17, 2026 | 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. CST | Elizabeth D. Rockwell Pavilion in the MD Anderson Library.
About this Lecture
Women are America's crisis management team鈥攖asked with holding society together at the seams and fixing it when things fall apart. Drawing on extensive research鈥攊ncluding longitudinal interviews, historical and media analyses, and national surveys鈥�Holding It Together reveals how billionaires, big corporations, and their cronies use women鈥檚 unpaid and underpaid labor to maintain the illusion of a 鈥淒IY society,鈥� making it seem as though we don鈥檛 need more public investment in sectors like childcare, eldercare, healthcare, education, and social welfare, because women are filling in the gaps.
The department also hosts 2 student-centered events the day after the lecture: a lunch for our undergraduate students, and a methods workshop for our graduate students.
Additional SIA Events with Dr. Jessica Calarco
- Undergraduate lunch on Wednesday, February 18th from 1:00 - 2:30 pm in the Lamar Fleming, Jr. Building, F Room 154.
- Graduate student workshop on Wednesday, February 18th from 3:30 - 5:00 pm in the Philip Guthrie Hoffman Hall 4th floor, Room 449 (the Werlin Room)