Baby Bust, 10th Anniversary Edition: New Choices for Men and Women in Work and Family

Ten years ago a groundbreaking cross-generational study revealed that greater freedom and new constraints were leading fewer young people to choose parenthood. In the intervening years, the decision to have a family has not gotten easier.

Stew Friedman, founding director of The Wharton School’s Work/Life Integration Project, studied two generations of Wharton college students as they graduated: Gen Xers in 1992 and Millennials in 2012. The cross-generational study produced a stark discovery--the rate of graduates who planned to have children had dropped by nearly half over those 20 years. While some might wonder what this privileged group can tell us about broader trends in the United States, Friedman argues that they were ＂the canaries in the coal mine. . . . if they could not see a way to make their careers and families work, how could those with fewer opportunities and resources square this circle?＂

In a new preface to this 10th anniversary edition of Baby Bust, Friedman observes that the birth rate in the United States has continued to decline in the years since. He offers new insights into why fewer people are choosing to have children, how the pandemic affected these trends, and what can be done about it.

In this book, Friedman addresses:

+ How views about work and family have changed;
+ Why men and women have different reasons for opting out of parenthood;
+ How family has been redefined;
+ What choices we face in our social and educational policy; and
+ How organizations and individuals--especially men--can spur cultural change.

In the debates on work and family, people of all generations are calling for a reasoned, thoughtful, research-driven contribution to the discussion. In Baby Bust, Friedman offers just that: an astute assessment of how far we have come and where we go from here.

Stew Friedman is an organizational psychologist at the Wharton School, where he has been since 1984 and is now Emeritus Practice Professor of Management. In 1991 he founded both the Wharton Leadership Program and the Wharton Work/Life Integration Project.

Friedman has been recognized by the biennial Thinkers50 global ranking of management thinkers every cycle since 2011, was honored with its 2015 Distinguished Achievement Award as the #1 expert in the field of talent, and in 2023 was inducted in its Hall of Fame. He was listed among HR Magazine’s most influential thought leaders, chosen by Working Mother as one of America’s most influential men who have made life better for working parents, and presented with the Families and Work Institute’s Work Life Legacy Award.

Following his stint as worldwide head of leadership development at Ford (1999-2001), Friedman founded Total Leadership, a management training and consulting company.He has won many teaching awards (The New York Times cited the ＂rock star adoration＂ he inspires in his students) and is an in-demand speaker, coach, and advocate for family-supportive policies in the private and public sectors. His books include Baby Bust, 10th Anniversary Edition: New Choices for Men and Women in Work and Family (Wharton School Press, 2023); Parents Who Lead: The Leadership Approach You Need to Parent with Purpose, Fuel Your Career, and Create a Richer Life (Harvard Business Review Press, 2020); Leading the Life You Want: Skills for Integrating Work and Life (Harvard Business Review Press, 2014), Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life (Harvard Business Review Press, 2008), among others.