Fair Play: A System for Domestic Rebalance

In the post–Lean In era, women are focused on gaining equality in all aspects of life—from political representation to paychecks—but it all starts at home. Countless news articles chronicle the costs of unpaid and “invisible” emotional labor to women’s health, well-being and career success. In her first book, Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live), Eve Rodsky presents a game-changing, sustainable solution which offers a system for rebalancing the domestic workload between partners and putting an end to the invisible work that women do, regardless of whether they work outside the home. The proven “Fair Play” method uses personal stories and expert research to illustrate exactly what the invisible work is and then how to get it done effectively—in a way that makes relationships stronger.

Drawing from her Harvard Law School training and career working with complex organizations, Ms. Rodsky applies the project management principle of CPE (Conceive, Plan, Execute) to the work of running a home. Using a set of four rules structured as a “game” between two partners, Fair Play identifies the 100 main tasks in any marriage (such as house cleaning, grocery shopping, managing money, buying gifts, and arranging childcare), and then shows, step-by-step, how to divide those tasks fairly (not necessarily equally!) so that both parties contribute their share. Fair Play is the “gamification” of running a home, a life-management system using “task cards” that each partner can pick up, hold, play and re-deal. The goal is to reclaim what she terms “Unicorn Space,” the time every person needs to pursue passions that tap back into one’s unique self—the one that was vibrant and shining before taking care of the kids took over.

Ms. Rodsky brings in experts and studies from the disciplines of psychology, neuroscience, behavioral economics, sociology and more to examine ways in which current culture reinforces the idea of a woman “doing it all” and to offer support for the Fair Play method. The book is chock-full of quizzes, tips, and real-life stories, and Ms. Rodsky does all the organizational heavy lifting. Part self-help guide, part instruction manual, Fair Play offers a clear path forward, away from nagging and resentment and toward a relationship in which both partners feel energized, confident, and appreciated.

Ms. Rodsky received her B.A. from the University of Michigan, and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. After working in foundation management at J.P. Morgan, she founded the Philanthropy Advisory Group to advise families and charitable foundations on best practices. Rodsky was raised by a single mom in New York City and now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their three children. For Fair Play, Ms. Rodsky interviewed more than five hundred couples, from all walks of life, to figure out what the invisible work in a family actually is and how to get it done efficiently.