Despite women outnumbering men as doctoral degree recipients, women remain underrepresented in higher education leadership roles. Specifically, women at the childbearing age serving as faculty often face challenges such as inadequate maternity leave and family policies that impede pathways for tenure, promotion, and elevation to senior…

Balancing the needs of the nuclear family with those of parents who can no longer live independently is a reality for many American workers. This article notes that, while more Americans are caring for their children and their parents, while balancing career, it can be an experience that can be challenging, life changing, and enriching.

Although employment is central to the lives of social work clients, it is seldom a focus in social work education. The authors conducted a survey of field instructors in a large MSW program to assess the importance of work-related issues in the lives of those they serve in their social service agencies. This experienced group of practitioners…

There are good reasons to suspect that the transition parents go through when having their second child may be different from when having their first, yet these differences remain understudied. This study focuses on one specific area of possible divergence by looking at how first-time versus second-time mothers decide on maternity leave length. To…

The foundations of the major federal policies that govern today's workplace were put in place during the 1930s, when most families had a stay-at-home caregiver who could tend to the needs of children, the aged, and the sick. Seven decades later, many of the nation's workplace policies are in need of major updates to reflect the realities of the…

All children, even the healthiest, have preventive and acute health care needs. Moreover, a growing number of children are chronically ill, with preventive, acute, and ongoing care needs that may be much more demanding than those for healthy children. Because children are unable to care for themselves, their parents are expected to provide a range…

About 15 percent of children in the United States are chronically ill. These children with special health care needs (CSHCN) account for half of all child hospital days nationwide, require many more medical visits than other children, and miss many more days of school. Their parents face special challenges as they struggle to balance work and the…

The work-life policies and benefits practices of public universities and the extent to which lesbian and gay (LG) faculty, staff and families receive different work-life benefits than their heterosexual married counterparts are examined. The analysis was conducted by searching university work-life benefits websites. Major benefits for domestic…

Employees attempting to balance careers and families have made family issues a major concern in the workplace. Equity issues arise, however, for employees who do not have family responsibilities. In this study, the authors sought to determine whether students' and employees' perceptions of family issues differed in their responses to nine…

Having a child creates priorities, adds perspective, and helps women to be clear about what they can do (and what they are willing to do) to succeed as a faculty member.

Although the Family and Medical Leave Act enabled some parents to take unpaid parental leave in order to fulfill family responsibilities, it did not cover all workers and did not provide workers the financial support to do so. This policy report calls for Congress to: require states to allow new parents who have been working to collect…

Analysis of 82 court cases involving pregnancy discrimination, 1972-91, shows that this litigation revealed the gender bias of equal employment opportunity law and capitalist economic relations, eroded assumptions about economic imperatives for not accommodating pregnant workers, and laid the groundwork for the Family and Medical Leave Act of…

The relationship between family and the workplace and the impact of both on school readiness are well documented. As society changes, home, work, and school relationships are being reassessed and retooled. Noting that employers are taking an increasing role in helping families cope with societal changes, this handbook offers information to…

Several decades ago, as the composition of the workforce changed and married women increased their labor-force participation rates, federal policies were designed to help employees balance work and family responsibilities. And as the gender composition of faculty in colleges and universities increasingly changed as well, a broad-based movement…

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) provided workers with the right to take time off from work to care for their families or themselves without fear of losing their jobs. Although this law is relatively straightforward, some employees and employers may be unsure about how it actually works. This guide is designed to answer many…