In 1975, which was the height of the women's movement, I thought I'd write a book on women's history. But in searching for a topic, I realized that there were few places in history where men and women interacted. Finally, it hit me: 'Oh, look at the family. That's the one place.'

There is no denying that we have made great progress toward gender equality.

Feminism insists on women's right to make choices - about whether to marry, whether to have children, whether to combine work and family or to focus on one over the other. It also urges men and women to share the joys and burdens of family life and calls on society to place a higher priority on supporting caregiving work.

Feminism needs a political program because gender inequality has been fostered by political decisions.

To me, marriage is partly a religious thing and I'm not religious.

In a democracy there are only two types of power: there's organized people and organized money, and organized money only wins when people aren't organized.

Every day there is a compromise. Living with somebody requires a lot of understanding. But I love being married. I really love it.

Bureaucracies tend to grow and to brag about their growth based on how many individuals they have and how much money they spend.