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The No Club: Putting a Stop to Women's Dead-End Work
In this “long overdue manifesto on gender equality in the workplace, a practical playbook with tips you can put into action immediately…simply priceless” (Angela Duckworth, bestselling author of Grit), The No Club offers a timely solution to achieving equity at work: unburden women’s careers from work that goes unrewarded.
The No Club started when four women, crushed by endless to-do lists, banded together to get their work lives under control. Running faster than ever, they still trailed behind male colleagues. And so, they vowed to say no to requests that pulled them away from the work that mattered most to their careers. This book reveals how their over-a-decade-long journey and subsequent groundbreaking research showing that women everywhere are unfairly burdened with “non-promotable work,” a tremendous problem we can—and must—solve.
All organizations have work that no one wants to do: planning the office party, screening interns, attending to that time-consuming client, or simply helping others with their work. A woman, most often, takes on these tasks. In study after study, professors Linda Babcock (bestselling author of Women Don’t Ask), Brenda Peyser, Lise Vesterlund, and Laurie Weingart—the original “No Club”—document that women are disproportionately asked and expected to do this work. The imbalance leaves women overcommitted and underutilized as companies forfeit revenue, productivity, and top talent.
The No Club walks you through how to change your workload, empowering women to make savvy decisions about the work they take on. The authors also illuminate how organizations can reassess how they assign and reward work to level the playing field. With hard data, personal anecdotes from women of all stripes, self- and workplace-assessments for immediate use, and innovative advice from the authors’ consulting Fortune 500 companies, this book will forever change the conversation about how we advance women’s careers and achieve equity in the 21st century.
The No Club started when four women, crushed by endless to-do lists, banded together to get their work lives under control. Running faster than ever, they still trailed behind male colleagues. And so, they vowed to say no to requests that pulled them away from the work that mattered most to their careers. This book reveals how their over-a-decade-long journey and subsequent groundbreaking research showing that women everywhere are unfairly burdened with “non-promotable work,” a tremendous problem we can—and must—solve.
All organizations have work that no one wants to do: planning the office party, screening interns, attending to that time-consuming client, or simply helping others with their work. A woman, most often, takes on these tasks. In study after study, professors Linda Babcock (bestselling author of Women Don’t Ask), Brenda Peyser, Lise Vesterlund, and Laurie Weingart—the original “No Club”—document that women are disproportionately asked and expected to do this work. The imbalance leaves women overcommitted and underutilized as companies forfeit revenue, productivity, and top talent.
The No Club walks you through how to change your workload, empowering women to make savvy decisions about the work they take on. The authors also illuminate how organizations can reassess how they assign and reward work to level the playing field. With hard data, personal anecdotes from women of all stripes, self- and workplace-assessments for immediate use, and innovative advice from the authors’ consulting Fortune 500 companies, this book will forever change the conversation about how we advance women’s careers and achieve equity in the 21st century.
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Published May 3, 2022
About the author
Linda Babcock
11 books45 followersLinda C. Babcock is the James Mellon Walton Professor of Economics at the H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She has also served as director of the Ph.D. Program and Interim Dean at the Heinz School.
Dr. Babcock grew up in Altadena, California, and attended public schools there before earning her bachelor's degree in economics from the University of California at Irvine. She subsequently attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where she completed a master's degree and a Ph.D. in economics. She has received numerous research grants from the National Science Foundation as well as several university teaching awards. She has served as a visiting professor at the Harvard Business School, the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, and the California Institute of Technology.
Dr. Babcock specializes in negotiation and dispute resolution. Her research has appeared in the most prestigious economics, industrial relations, and law journals, including the American Economic Review, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Journal of Economic Perspectives, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Industrial Relations, the Journal of Legal Studies, The New York Times, the Economist, the Harvard Business Review, the International Herald Tribune, the Sunday Times of London and the International Review of Law and Economics. She also consults for public sector, not-for-profit, and private sector organizations.
Dr. Babcock is a member of the American Economic Association, the Society for Judgment and Decision Making, the Economic Science Association, the International Association for Conflict Management, the American Law and Economics Association, and the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession. She is currently serving on the Behavioral Economics Roundtable of the Russell Sage Foundation and as a Review Panel Member at the National Science Foundation.
Dr. Babcock lives in Pittsburgh with her husband, Mark Wessel and their daughter.
Dr. Babcock grew up in Altadena, California, and attended public schools there before earning her bachelor's degree in economics from the University of California at Irvine. She subsequently attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where she completed a master's degree and a Ph.D. in economics. She has received numerous research grants from the National Science Foundation as well as several university teaching awards. She has served as a visiting professor at the Harvard Business School, the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, and the California Institute of Technology.
Dr. Babcock specializes in negotiation and dispute resolution. Her research has appeared in the most prestigious economics, industrial relations, and law journals, including the American Economic Review, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Journal of Economic Perspectives, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Industrial Relations, the Journal of Legal Studies, The New York Times, the Economist, the Harvard Business Review, the International Herald Tribune, the Sunday Times of London and the International Review of Law and Economics. She also consults for public sector, not-for-profit, and private sector organizations.
Dr. Babcock is a member of the American Economic Association, the Society for Judgment and Decision Making, the Economic Science Association, the International Association for Conflict Management, the American Law and Economics Association, and the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession. She is currently serving on the Behavioral Economics Roundtable of the Russell Sage Foundation and as a Review Panel Member at the National Science Foundation.
Dr. Babcock lives in Pittsburgh with her husband, Mark Wessel and their daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
May 22, 2022
This is an excellently written book about the tasks that women are constantly asked to do at work that do not help their careers and why they are asked to do them. Everyone should read this, including managers so they can recognize when this is happening and put in place strategies (that the authors recommend) to avoid burdening women with non-promotable, dead-end work. If we are going to solve some of the workforce issues that plague women's careers, this is one place to start! The book is well written, with lots of personal examples and well done research to back up their assertions.
July 18, 2022
“What is optional for men is often required for women.”
“Women feel guilty for saying no.”
“There is a collective expectation that women take on un-promotable work.”
Yes, yes, and yes. This is a book that tells women and people of color to say no to doing extra “non-promotable tasks” (NPTs) at work. As a woman who needs reminders to say no, this really spoke to me. It largely focuses on women, but it also examined how people of color are asked to do extra as well, especially with diversity related tasks. This book suggests concrete policies and procedures organizations can use to spread NPTs equitably. This is largely targeted at the corporate world, but as a teacher, I think school districts can benefit from the suggestions in this.
“Women feel guilty for saying no.”
“There is a collective expectation that women take on un-promotable work.”
Yes, yes, and yes. This is a book that tells women and people of color to say no to doing extra “non-promotable tasks” (NPTs) at work. As a woman who needs reminders to say no, this really spoke to me. It largely focuses on women, but it also examined how people of color are asked to do extra as well, especially with diversity related tasks. This book suggests concrete policies and procedures organizations can use to spread NPTs equitably. This is largely targeted at the corporate world, but as a teacher, I think school districts can benefit from the suggestions in this.
June 17, 2022
This book is geared towards women in academia, but would be useful outside of as well, in learning how to set boundaries and do the work which will help your career. It introduces NPT, non-promotable tasks, and the fact that many of these get allocated to women. It teaches women how to identify these, for example planning office parties or events, that don't help you attain a CV reference or promotion.
April 23, 2023
This was a dnf, but not because it wasn't a good read, necessarily, it just wasn't the book I expected it to be. I was waiting for some tactical steps to take and after 3 chapters of research telling me about the existing problem, I decided not to go on.
Three stars because it was interesting, and I think the book is probably an important one, but I felt it wasn't what it sold itself to be, if that makes sense? Maybe just not for me.
Three stars because it was interesting, and I think the book is probably an important one, but I felt it wasn't what it sold itself to be, if that makes sense? Maybe just not for me.
May 17, 2023
This is a great book. One thing that started to make me dissatisfied at my last job was doing too many “non-promotable tasks.” And the writing was on the wall for more coming my way. It made me less satisfied with work and frustrated. It also made me feel unappreciated. I have always called these tasks the “shit work of work.” Every job has shit work, and I always say that my shit work at my new job is less shitty, and I’m more passionate about it, and I find it more satisfying. In most places, for a lot of reasons outlined in this book, women do more shit work, ie “non-promotable tasks.” This leads to work-work imbalance or overwork, both f which suck. This excellent book talks about what women can do (and by the way, it is worse for women of color) and, importantly, what ORGANIZATIONS can do. I definitely highly recommend.
August 5, 2022
This is a great resource for hashtag girlbosses focused on career advancement. There was a brief mention of a woman who wanted to spend more time with her family, but overall the book assumes you want to keep working the same amount, but on more "promotable" tasks. Fair enough for some people I guess but not exactly what I wanted. You know a book's got no teeth when the authors suggest you get your boss to read it. There's some interesting nuggets in there but it's terribly bloated.
September 25, 2023
Helt vildt vigtig bog om kvinders usynlige og ikke forfremmende arbejde. En klar opfordring til mere ligestilling.
March 5, 2023
I like the concept of this book. As women, we tend to say Yes too often and be asked to do more administrative tasks to begin with. However, the value I found in this book was only found in the beginning and the end.
If you like the premise of prioritizing work that is fulfilling and starting a habit of saying no to work that doesn't align with your goals, I'd recommend Essentialism.
If you like the premise of prioritizing work that is fulfilling and starting a habit of saying no to work that doesn't align with your goals, I'd recommend Essentialism.
October 7, 2023
This book has some incredible research and really opened my eyes to the burdens placed on women in the workplace. It was easy to read, with personal anecdotes interspersed with research studies, and was clear and impactful. I know I will keep thinking about NPTs throughout my career. However, there was so much more I wanted from the book! Overall, the book is so geared toward corporate America, with assumed values of promotion, money, and status. I wanted more nuance on what NPTs could look like in other careers and more broadly in life, as well as distinguishing how NPTs show up in different stages of a career. The discussion on the extra burden placed on women of color felt superficial at times, and I wish it went deeper. Even so, I think this is a valuable book and I want to share it especially with the working men in my life.
February 4, 2024
Truly, truly incredible. I never could understand why I felt so overwhelmed in the workplace— why I felt like I couldn’t do the things I always wanted to and my male coworkers seemed to be blissful. Non Promotable Work. Non Promotable Tasks. I FINALLY understand why my career has felt so exhausting, because I’m doing all of the things that A) aren’t even in my job description B) I am asked to do significantly more than my coworkers. My life has changed, I see work in such a new light now. Thank you for this book. EVERYONE, MEN AND WOMEN, SHOULD READ THIS!
October 24, 2023
read this for the women’s ERG book club at my job. wowwwie talk about a book that could’ve been an article. agree with the sentiment but this is mostly directed towards middle/senior management and misses an opportunity to examine how early career women should handle what the book calls “non promotable tasks”. writing style was not very advanced and made me feel like i was reading a high schooler’s attempt to hit a word count minimum. not for me!
February 18, 2023
Their research shows how many non promotable tasks women are asked to do compared to men, especially because of the expectations that they will say yes, and then how that is detrimental to not only their careers but to the organizations they work for. I enjoyed the research bits the most. A bit sad it’s so obvious that this happens to women.
August 20, 2022
The core insight in this book is important. But this book is written for a specific audience, primarily, namely those burdened unduly by NPTs. I wish it was written for a broader audience and I wish it focused a bit more on the actual research. I also felt it had a business/corporate vibe. Long story short, I love and teach the core research work described here, but this book can be skipped.
September 12, 2022
I really enjoyed this book and think it's a well researched, easily digestable way for both managers and non-managers alike to consider how non-promotable tasks (NPTs) impact the lives of themselves and those on their teams. NPTs are analyzed from the obvious (party planning, coffee runs, etc.) to the less-obvious (governance committees, affinity groups, etc.). It's applicable to any gender identity, but the main thrust of the research leveraged in the book is based on women.
I don't consider myself to be overly burdened by NPTs or to put them upon those I manage, but the exercises in the book were helpful to analyze what work I do adds value to your organization and to really take a critical look at what things I am doing that add value in some way (and thus are likely promotable) and what things I may be taking on that are good for the organization, but maybe not so good for me. I very much appreciated the note that NPT's are a part of any organization - it's rare you can avoid them altogether - but you can critically look at which ones you do and which might be "PTs" for someone else.
Things that I found value in:
- The exercises provided in many chapters to help you objectively assess your workload, what your organization values, and how those things align
- How to say no in various ways to NPTs that may be thrown your way - with a focus on who is asking them and considerations therein (your boss? your colleague? a leader in your org?)
-Understanding what is an NPT for you isn't necessarily an NPT for everyone - who else in your org can benefit from a task you don't need to be doing?
- Assessing the relative value of the NPTs you take on through various lenses (personal enjoyment or passions, relative payoff of an NPT for the effort, etc.)
- If you are in a leadership role, there is a section that talks about how organizations and should change their culture to help balance the NPT load
I think being in academia enabled me to better relate to some of the case studies / anecdotes, but examples from law, engineering, science, research and other fields are shared and I think help the book be accessible and relatable to a wide audience.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who says yes too often at work, manages a team and wants to reflect critically on if they are managing equitably in the space of NPTs, feels they spend a lot of time doing work for little recognition, and/or is stuck in power dynamics that might lend to these types of issues.
I don't consider myself to be overly burdened by NPTs or to put them upon those I manage, but the exercises in the book were helpful to analyze what work I do adds value to your organization and to really take a critical look at what things I am doing that add value in some way (and thus are likely promotable) and what things I may be taking on that are good for the organization, but maybe not so good for me. I very much appreciated the note that NPT's are a part of any organization - it's rare you can avoid them altogether - but you can critically look at which ones you do and which might be "PTs" for someone else.
Things that I found value in:
- The exercises provided in many chapters to help you objectively assess your workload, what your organization values, and how those things align
- How to say no in various ways to NPTs that may be thrown your way - with a focus on who is asking them and considerations therein (your boss? your colleague? a leader in your org?)
-Understanding what is an NPT for you isn't necessarily an NPT for everyone - who else in your org can benefit from a task you don't need to be doing?
- Assessing the relative value of the NPTs you take on through various lenses (personal enjoyment or passions, relative payoff of an NPT for the effort, etc.)
- If you are in a leadership role, there is a section that talks about how organizations and should change their culture to help balance the NPT load
I think being in academia enabled me to better relate to some of the case studies / anecdotes, but examples from law, engineering, science, research and other fields are shared and I think help the book be accessible and relatable to a wide audience.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who says yes too often at work, manages a team and wants to reflect critically on if they are managing equitably in the space of NPTs, feels they spend a lot of time doing work for little recognition, and/or is stuck in power dynamics that might lend to these types of issues.
June 7, 2022
I liked it but it's mainly for people who don't do that kind of work. Not everyone is an executive.
October 31, 2022
This book was really eye opening in understanding all the non-promotable tasks I used to do early in my career. The book provides a really great template, and approach in completing an exercise to find out what type of work you are doing and understanding what amount of time makes sense in your org for non-promotable tasks. They also do a great job explaining why women tend to be assigned these tasks more, and it will definitely make me evaluate things with my own team. My only complaint with the book is it was a bit lengthy/wordy and felt like some examples and points were over exhausted. Otherwise its super helpful for any professional finding themselves overworked or with less time for value-add tasks, being past up for promotions and wants to make more time for the work that matters. It would also be a great book for a book club!
September 29, 2023
This was a Did-Not-Finish for me. The stories were very repetitive and although understandable because a lot of women struggling with saying no, it caused the book to drag on. I do appreciate the notion that the problem is not that women cannot say no, but moreso that women are asked to do non-career tasks disproportionate to how often men are. But then, all the advice and self-help aspects were about how you can say "no" and point to your calendar or projects.
I had a hard time reading that these women ultimately decided to say "no" because their careers and research were being negatively impacted. No. Women should just be able to say "no" because they can. I did not appreciate that the "no" was framed around saving your career. No is full sentence. It should be used all the time.
I had a hard time reading that these women ultimately decided to say "no" because their careers and research were being negatively impacted. No. Women should just be able to say "no" because they can. I did not appreciate that the "no" was framed around saving your career. No is full sentence. It should be used all the time.
January 4, 2023
I read this as part of a professional book club. As someone who was recently promoted for the work they did, I didn’t really relate to the issues that were raised. However, I found the explanations and descriptions, particularly of non-promotable tasks (NPTs) very accurate and the inherent bias that exists with them (as to who should be doing this work). I think this is particularly evident in my experience with academia, but obviously exists in all industries. As one of my new duties includes policy writing, I found this to be enlightening and useful in examining tasks and who should be responsible for them.
A good read for workers and bosses of all genders and racial/ethnic backgrounds.
A good read for workers and bosses of all genders and racial/ethnic backgrounds.
August 31, 2022
A definitive #girlboss read. The book defines a very practical concept of “non-promotable work” and uses research to explain why women end up doing more of it. I found this and their strategies on when/how to say no very helpful (especially as a people-pleasing doer). However, those valuable insights could have been communicated in a shorter book. The book walks a line of using research and anecdotes to explain their points, not always in a super convincing way. I found it less compelling when they argue why it’s “good for business” and wished they could have explored the norms within patriarchy more. They give some nods to saying no for the purpose of time with family, but are heavily focused on career advancement as the end goal. I guess as economists/business profs and university admin, the authors wanted to make an economic/financial case (rather than a social/moral/holistic case).
August 17, 2023
Tl;dr: figure out what helps you at work, learn to set boundaries and say no to things that do not help you, and get a group of people to support you in that. Individuals and organisations should figure out what needs to be done and what is 'promotable', measure how much non-promotable work is being done by people, and put in structures to redress that.
This book could have been a slide deck, BUT may be helpful for people who are starting on their no-saying journey in the workplace, or who have not examined what helps and does not help them get where they're going, task-wise, in the workplace.
This book could have been a slide deck, BUT may be helpful for people who are starting on their no-saying journey in the workplace, or who have not examined what helps and does not help them get where they're going, task-wise, in the workplace.
October 9, 2023
Probably one of the most important books in the intersection between equality and business leadership, this year.
Why is it that women takes on most of the Non Promotable Tasks at their job? Well, the four authors set out to find out why they where spending way more of their time on all the important, but in end the end not conductive to their career, then their male colleagues. It turns out that there's a reason, and it's structural and not something the women can change on their own. It's not enough to just say no. And if you do it, you got to be really smart about it.
Must read if you have ever volunteered to do a task, even if you didn't really have the time
Why is it that women takes on most of the Non Promotable Tasks at their job? Well, the four authors set out to find out why they where spending way more of their time on all the important, but in end the end not conductive to their career, then their male colleagues. It turns out that there's a reason, and it's structural and not something the women can change on their own. It's not enough to just say no. And if you do it, you got to be really smart about it.
Must read if you have ever volunteered to do a task, even if you didn't really have the time
October 29, 2022
Hot tip: I brought this book with me on a work retreat and since then when someone is trying to get me to do something out of my scope and an “NPT”, when I say “no” they’ve cried “that book!“ in a kind of frustrated but understanding way. If nothing else just buy it and stick it on your desk so colleagues are eased into the change!
I think this book is useful for mid-career professionals to do a stock take in what they are actually up to in the workplace and whether that’s getting you anywhere.
I think this book is useful for mid-career professionals to do a stock take in what they are actually up to in the workplace and whether that’s getting you anywhere.
February 14, 2023
A book that is easy to read, well researched, and interesting. The concept of Non-promotable Tasks (NPTs) that litter professional women's work days shows how competent, intelligent women are held back by tasks that need to be done but do not help them get ahead. It talks about how the individual can say "No" effectively, and the possible positive - and negative consequences. And it also talks about how organizations can manage NPTs and assure that they are better distributed in an equitable manner.
March 7, 2024
Empowering book to kick off WHM. I really enjoy hearing the stories of the women authors and how they started their club. The work won’t go away overnight and it will be a continuous struggle to fully implement equitability among the sexes. Some of the ideas set forth in the book certainly can be difficult to be a one size fit for every type of job. I think there’s a lot to take away from it. There were portions heavy on research which of course makes sense but some times got a little far from the point.
June 4, 2022
The ideas in this book were so interesting: conceptualizing and articulating NPTs (non-promotable tasks) at work and how we can create more gender equity so women are not left doing all of the NPTs at work. But as a book, this could’ve been way shorter. It was a quick read in part because it kept repeating itself. But I’m grateful I read it bc it really armed me with important language to advocate for myself (and others) at work.
October 22, 2022
It took me a while to read this book bc the topic is so heavy and in depth I needed to read it in chunks. The message, however, was spot on. Women do more non-promotable work than men and it hinders career success. There was lots of data and anecdotes to support their research. Then more action plans to implement person and organization solutions. This was a great book and all business leaders should read it.
January 20, 2023
I read this for book club. It had some good points, things that I generally pride myself on doing in the work place along with others which are definitely NPTs and I should probably step away from.
It's probably not a book I would pick up for myself had it not been the book selected for the session. It can become repetitive in some parts and I don't agree with some points - though it did lead to an interesting discussion within a mixed gender, mixed age group.
It's probably not a book I would pick up for myself had it not been the book selected for the session. It can become repetitive in some parts and I don't agree with some points - though it did lead to an interesting discussion within a mixed gender, mixed age group.
February 20, 2023
3.5 stars. The first half was really good. I liked hearing about how the club was formed and about how the club did research to back up what they were seeing in their own jobs. But the last half got pretty repetitive when they talked about how to make change at your own office. I think at least 20% of the book could have been cut through editing. Maybe if you had never heard of the phrase "office housework" then the book wouldn't have seemed so repetitive.
April 13, 2024
Though the book wasn’t for me I still found it useful and relatable. As a woman these frustrations at home and work are too real. The book and research was focused on gender disparity in professional work namely the NPTs, the issue at hand though seems more global and patriarchal. I can see how more people would benefit from having these insights, I’d probably share them myself whenever the need arises.
August 21, 2022
I’ll save you a bunch of time - their solution to doing too much non-promotable work is to do a bunch of non-promotable work through the exercises and committees they recommend. This book should have been about empowering women to say no and call out their male colleagues to do more. Very disappointing.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews