Claudia Goldin, Dogs and Mothers' Day.

She is one of the top economic historians alive. Her seventies book on the economics of urban slavery is must-read. In the following decades her attention has focused to gender issues. One of her famous papers (with Cecilia Rouse) shows how the institution of "blind" auditions reduced the gender discrimination in the classical music labour market.
Today she criticizes the studies that estimate the wages of a mother summing up the market value of her tasks:

"What about my dog’s annual salary? She guards the house and warms the bed (Al Gore would approve — no electricity used). She cleans the floor — really well — if something spills. She’s my personal trainer and lowers my husband’s blood pressure. She heals as well as heels. Tally up that sum.”

Via Brad DeLong.