Why are mothers idealised yet treated so poorly?

Why does the principle of equality falter so spectacularly when it comes to childcare?

Why do mothers feel so reticent about making demands?

Hectored by the ticking biological clock, patronised in pregnancy, ignored in childbirth, weighed down by emotional labour, condemned for any imperfection, and forced to either jettison treasured ambitions or endure continual guilt: somehow this has become the everyday reality for mothers in the twenty-first century. Why, after decades of social progress, is motherhood still so much harder than it needs to be?

Eliane Glaser is a writer, broadcaster, and research fellow at the University of London. She writes for the Guardian, Prospect, and the London Review of Books, and produces and appears on BBC Radio 4 and Radio 3. Her books include Motherhood: A Manifesto; Elitism: A Progressive Defence; Anti-Politics; and Get Real: How to see through the Hype, Spin, and Lies of Modern Life.

In this searing and vital talk Eliane Glaser suggests what we need to do to shift the needle and improve the business of child-rearing for everyone.

45-minute talk, followed by opportunity for audience questions

This event is a donation point for The Homeless Period

Win a signed copy of Motherhood: A Manifesto in the raffle – proceeds go to START

Free entry – booking essential (if you can no longer attend, please return your tickets so someone else can)