Work:life Balance

Flexible work arrangements and policies that address caregiving roles result in paybacks for both employers and employees. Research shows that employees with a satisfying work/life balance are more productive, creative, innovative and motivated at work and are less likely to leave their positions. Flexibility also encourages gender diversity in the workplace by easing the way for women to stay on their chosen career tracks while providing caregiving to children and family members or pursuing other interests and responsibilities.

Study: When it comes to pay, do the thin win? The effect of weight on pay for men and women

Teaser:

According to a study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, a woman’s weight can have a significant impact on her earnings.

Editorial:

From Forbes.com

• “For men, increases in weight have positive linear effects of pay but at diminished returns at above-average levels of weight.”

• Gaining weight is more damaging to women’s earnings than to men. “For women, increases in weight have negative linear effects on pay, but the negative effects are stronger at below-average than at above-average weight levels.”

• “Whereas women are punished for any weight gain, very thin women receive the most severe punishment for their first few pounds of weight gain. This finding is consistent with research showing that the media’s depiction of an unrealistically think female ideal leads people to see this ideal as normative, expected, and central to female attractiveness.”

• “Very thin” women earned approximately $22,000 more than their average weight counterparts.

• “Thin” women earned a little over $7,000 more than their average weight counterparts.

• “Heavy” and “Very Heavy” women lost over $9,000 and almost $19,000, respectively, than their average weight counterparts.

When it comes to pay, do the thin win? The effect of weight on pay for men and women.

Judge, Timothy A.; Cable, Daniel M.

Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol 96(1), Jan 2011, 95-112. doi: 10.1037/a0020860 [fee]

Also available as a preprint

Abstract

Cultivation theory suggests that society holds very different body standards for men versus women, and research indicates that the consequences of defying these social norms may not be linear. To test these notions in the employment context, we examined the relationship between weight and income and the degree to which the relationship varies by gender. For women, we theorized a negative weight–income relationship that is steepest at the thin end of the distribution. For men, we predicted a positive weight–income relationship until obesity, where it becomes negative. To test these hypotheses, we utilized 2 longitudinal studies, 1 German and 1 American. In Study 1, weight was measured over 2 time periods, and earnings were averaged over the subsequent 5 years. Study 2 was a multilevel study in which weight and earnings were within-individual variables observed over time, and gender was a between-individual variable. Results from the 2 studies generally support the hypotheses, even when examining within-individual changes in weight over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

Source:

Journal of Applied Psychology

URL:

http://www.timothy-judge.com/Judge%20and%20Cable%20%28JAP%202010%29.pdf

Date:

June 7, 2011

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Data: The Basic Economic Security Tables Initiative

Teaser:

The Basic Economic Security Tables™ Index (BEST) is a measure of the basic needs and assets workers require for economic security throughout a lifetime and across generations. The BEST addresses the several pieces of the larger basic economic security picture—basic needs, savings and employment-based benefits—and allows a broad and complete view of worker needs and families’ prospects for achieving the economic security so critical to their futures and to their communities.BEST values have been calculated for the United States and Alabama, the District of Columbia, Michigan, and New Mexico.

Editorial:

The report finds that single workers need $30,012 a year – nearly twice the federal minimum wage – to cover basic expenses. Single-parents require nearly twice the income ($57,756) to support two children, while dual-income households with children require $67,920.The largest expense for most BEST families is rent and utilities. Other large expenses include transportation, child care and taxes.

Source:

Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW)

URL:

http://www.wowonline.org/usbest/

Date:

May 31, 2011

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Study: The Effect of Maternity Leave Length and Time of Return to Work on Breastfeeding

Teaser:

Researchers in Georgia and South Carolina report that new mothers who take a longer maternity leave are more likely to begin and continue breastfeeding their babies.

Editorial:

Abstract:

Objective: We investigated the effect of maternity leave length and time of first return to work on breastfeeding.

Methods: Data were from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort. Restricting our sample to singletons whose biological mothers were the respondents at the 9-month interview and worked in the 12 months before delivery (N = 6150), we classified the length of total maternity leave (weeks) as 1 to 6, 7 to 12, ≥13, and did not take; paid maternity leave (weeks) as 0, 1 to 6, ≥7, and did not take; and time of return to work postpartum (weeks) as 1 to 6, 7 to 12, ≥13, and not yet returned. Analyses included χ2 tests and multiple logistic regressions.

Results: In our study population, 69.4% initiated breastfeeding with positive variation by both total and paid maternity leave length, and time of return to work. In adjusted analyses, neither total nor paid maternity leave length had any impact on breastfeeding initiation or duration. Compared with those returning to work within 1 to 6 weeks, women who had not yet returned to work had a greater odds of initiating breastfeeding (odds ratio [OR]: 1.46 [1.08–1.97]; risk ratios [RR]: 1.13 [1.03–1.22]), continuing any breastfeeding beyond 6 months (OR: 1.41 [0.87–2.27]; RR: 1.25 [0.91–1.61]), and predominant breastfeeding beyond 3 months (OR: 2.01 [1.06–3.80]; RR: 1.70 [1.05–2.53]). Women who returned to work at or after 13 weeks postpartum had higher odds of predominantly breastfeeding beyond 3 months (OR: 2.54 [1.51–4.27]; RR: 1.99 [1.38–2.69]).

Conclusion: If new mothers delay their time of return to work, then duration of breastfeeding among US mothers may lengthen.

Source:

Pediatrics

URL:

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2011/05/25/peds.2010-0459

Date:

June 1, 2011

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Women on war front more likely to get post-traumatic stress disorder than men, study finds

Teaser:

A study presented at the 2011 annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association finds that women deployed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are emerging as a group especially vulnerable to post-traumatic stress disorder.

Editorial:

From the Los Angeles Times article:

In the study, presented this week, researchers studied 922 National Guard members -- including 91 women -- under mandatory deployment to Iraq in 2008. The guard members were screened using mental-health measures before deployment and three months after deployment. The study found that women were much more likely than men to meet the criteria for PTSD after returning home -- 18.7% of women had PTSD compared with 8.7% of men. There were no significant differences between men and women in their level of combat exposure.

Source:

Los Angeles Times

URL:

http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-ptsd-women-military-20110519,0,6360607.story

Date:

May 29, 2011

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Associated Issues & Expertise:

Survey: Working Moms: An Assistant at Home? Yes, Please

Teaser:

The Working Moms: How do they manage? joint survey by TODAYMoms and iVillage, reports that 67.5 percent of working mothers would prefer to have an assistant at home rather than at work.

Editorial:

From the article:

In a survey of more than 700 working moms, 67.5 percent said they would prefer an assistant at home rather than at work. The survey Working Moms: How do they manage?, a joint venture by TODAYMoms and iVillage, found that 17.5 percent said they’d prefer help at work. (And a curious 19.5 percent answered “none of the above.” We want to know: who are these wonder women?)

Among other findings in the areas of chores, sick-leave, fitness and general happiness:

66 percent of full-time working moms are responsible for 75 percent of the household chores. Meanwhile, an unlucky 11 percent say they’re responsible for ALL of the household chores.
What’s a working mom to do when she gets sick? Soldier on, is the response of 24 percent, who said “I am not allowed to get sick.”
More than 75 percent say that juggling work and family makes it hard to live a healthy lifestyle.
Asked how they feel about being a working mom, “proud” beat out “guilty” – barely. While 87 percent feel proud, 82 percent felt guilty. (They were allowed to pick more than one choice.)
Nearly 60 percent are satisfied with the time they spend with their kids.

Source:

TODAYMoms and iVillage

URL:

http://moms.today.com/_news/2011/05/02/6557462-working-moms-an-assistant-at-home-yes-please

Date:

May 2, 2011

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Report: Women in America: Indicators of Economic and Social Well-being

Teaser:

Using federal statistics, this report provides a picture of women in America in five areas: demographic and family changes, education, employment, health, and crime and violence.

Editorial:

From the Foreword:

Each page of this report is full of the most up-to-date facts on the status of women. Of particular note are the following:

As the report shows, women have made enormous progress on some fronts. Women have not only caught up with men in college attendance but younger women are now more likely than younger men to have a college or a master’s degree. Women are also working more and the number of women and men in the labor force has nearly equalized in recent years. As women’s work has increased, their earnings constitute a growing share of family income.
Yet, these gains in education and labor force involvement have not yet translated into wage and income equity. At all levels of education, women earned about 75 percent of what their male counterparts earned in 2009. In part because of these lower earnings and in part because unmarried and divorced women are the most likely to have responsibility for raising and supporting their children, women are more likely to be in poverty than men. These economic inequities are even more acute for women of color.
Women live longer than men but are more likely to face certain health problems, such as mobility impairments, arthritis, asthma, depression, and obesity. Women also engage in lower levels of physical activity. Women are less likely than men to suffer from heart disease or diabetes. Many women do not receive specific recommended preventative care, and one out of seven women age 18-64 has no usual source of health care. The share of women in that age range without health insurance has also increased.
Women are less likely than in the past to be the target of violent crimes, including homicide. But women are victims of certain crimes, such as intimate partner violence and stalking, at higher rates than men.

Source:

U. S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration and Executive Office of the President Office of Management and Budget

URL:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/rss_viewer/Women_in_America.pdf

Date:

May 3, 2011

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Survey: Women Pass the Buck on Retirement, Survey Says

Teaser:

Ing Direct and Dailyworth.com conducted a survey that reveals that many women know very little about their own retirement plans.

Editorial:

From PR Newswire Press Release:

Nearly eight in ten (78 percent) women say they lack financial savvy (or they are still learning) about retirement planning. Given this, more than one in three married women admit they hand over the reins for their retirement planning to their spouse or significant other. Still a quarter of women (23 percent) acknowledge that they should pay more attention to retirement planning.

To help determine why some women lack readiness in their retirement planning, the survey revealed that:

Nearly 30 percent have no idea what their main source of retirement income will be.
40 percent of women don't know what kind of retirement lifestyle they want.
49 percent wish they knew more about the basics of investing, including picking the right stocks or funds, and portfolio and risk management.
37 percent of women blame a lack of time, complicated Wall Street jargon and trouble with their everyday expenses as hurdles that prevent them from being investing savvy.

Source:

PR Newswire press release

URL:

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/women-pass-the-buck-on-retirement-survey-says-121084224.html

Date:

May 2, 2011

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Looking to Women in America for Solutions

Submitted by Kate Meyer on Mon, 04/04/2011 - 5:13pm

*By Kate Meyer

Last week Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to President Obama and Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls, and Preeta Bansal, General Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, hosted a White House Webchat to highlight findings from the recently released report Women in America: Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being. Here at NCRW we were thrilled to see Jarrett and Bansal advocating for the same policies and programs that are on our agenda.

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Access to Paid Sick Days Less Common Among Workers of Color

Submitted by sbanerjee on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 11:14am

Research & Action Report, Fall/Winter 2010

Submitted by Kate Meyer on Tue, 11/23/2010 - 1:03pm

The Fall/Winter 2010 issue of Research & Action Report includes a Q&A with Nancy Marshall, Ed.D. outlining recent trends around work and family balance. "It used to be men who were expected to be married to their jobs; now it's women and men. And it's much harder to deal with work/family issues when you never leave work," says Marshall, senior associate director and research scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW). The full article is available online.

URL:

http://www.wcwonline.org/images/stories/researchandaction/pdf/rar_fallwinter2010.pdf

Member Organization:

Wellesley Centers for Women

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What We Do

NCRW is a network of leading university and community based research, policy, and advocacy centers with a growing global reach dedicated to advancing rights and opportunities for women and girls. We also have a Corporate Circle comprised of senior diversity professionals from leading U.S. and global member companies and a Presidents Circle of college and university leaders who share our commitment. NCRW harnesses the collective power of its network to provide knowledge, analysis, and thought leadership on issues ranging from reducing women’s poverty to building a critical mass of women’s leadership across sectors.

Work:life Balance

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