Reshma Saujani talks new book, ‘Pay Up’ l GMA

Key wellness & self-care strategies / productivity & workplace tactics

• Reinvent the workplace by changing the system (not fixing women)

  • Stop “fixing the woman” (e.g., calendars, mentoring programs, extra leadership courses).
  • Instead, fix workplace design for caregiving realities.

• Use the current moment for leverage (instead of going back)

  • Treat this as a “seller’s market” with many open jobs and leverage for working women.
  • Ask for concrete supports now, rather than accepting outdated norms.

• Prioritize mental health supports

  • Recognize the scale of distress (anxiety/depression among moms).
  • Push for workplace help with mental health support.

• Four “forces of change” framework

  1. Empower yourself: set tangible boundaries
     • Examples of boundary-setting:
       • Delegate and structure caregiving routines with a partner (e.g., nights vs. mornings).
       • Build in personal time (e.g., a walk, intentional “girls night”) instead of defaulting to burnout.
  2. Empower in workplaces: ask for what you need
     • Demand practical supports like:
       • Subsidized/affordable child care
       • Flexibility
       • Help that reduces caregiving strain (not just benefits that don’t address core needs)
  3. Change culture: value motherhood openly
     • Stop hiding pregnancy and caregiving needs.
     • Normalize motherhood-related realities (e.g., medical appointments) rather than relying on “networking lunch” as the only visible “career” activity.
  4. Advocate for yourself: fight for policy
     • Push for:
       • Paid leave
       • Affordable child care
       • Child tax credit
     • Don’t wait for slow-moving political change—use current workplace/job leverage to push improvements.

• Wellness framing during the “Great Resignation”

  • The mass exit from workplaces signals that systems were not designed for women, especially mothers with caregiving duties during crisis conditions.

Presenters / sources

• Reshma Saujani (author of Pay Up)
• Robin Roberts (GMA host)
• CDC report (referenced as a source for anxiety/depression statistics among moms)
• GMA (Good Morning America) (program context)