Family & Society

Gender roles are formed and reinforced from earliest childhood through family relations, social and cultural strictures and norms. Today, family structures are shifting as nuclear and extended families undergo transformations due to economic and societal changes. The traditional archetype of one father and one mother plus children reflects only 25 percent of families in the U.S. Parental roles are also evolving as single-parent, same-sex couples and adoptive parents become increasingly common. Laws and employment policies are gradually reflecting these changes but more effort needs to be focused on providing family-friendly support from affordable, accessible, quality child and elder care to flexible work arrangements.

Let Me Not Die Before My Time: Domestic Violence In West Africa

Submitted by asklar on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 11:42pm

A report from the International Rescue Committee (IRC) finds that in countries recovering from war in West Africa, domestic violence is the biggest threat to women's safety.

The report, called "Let Me Not Die Before My Time: Domestic Violence In West Africa," reveals that "across Ivory Coast, Liberia and Sierra Leone, years after the official end of these countries' brutal wars, women are being intimidated, threatened and beaten with shocking frequency."

Though domestic violence is a global issue affecting about one in three women worldwide, IRC chose to focus on these three West African countries to show how the problem can become more severe in post-conflict environments.

The report is based on 10 years of research and direct interaction with women and government leaders in Liberia, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone. All three countries were embroiled in violent civil wars a decade ago, and those tensions remain.

URL:

http://www.rescue.org/sites/default/files/resource-file/IRC_Report_DomVioWAfrica.pdf

Stay-at-home moms more depressed

Teaser:

Gallup finds that stay-at-home mothers are more likely to report having ever been diagnosed with depression than moms who work outside the home

Editorial:

From UPI:

Stay-at-home moms are much more likely to report having ever been diagnosed with depression than moms who work outside the home, a U.S. survey indicates.

Gallup officials said they looked separately at non-employed mothers who were looking for work and those who were not looking -- to distinguish between those who might be employed because of circumstance rather than by choice. Both groups were more likely than employed mothers to report anger, sadness and depression, the survey said.

Non-employed women with young children at home were more likely than women with young children at home who are employed for pay to report experiencing sadness and anger the day before they were surveyed.

[...]

Source:

UPI

URL:

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2012/05/20/Stay-at-home-moms-more-depressed/UPI-29631337487501/

Date:

May 23, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Are We Ready For A Cease-Fire In The Mommy Wars?

Teaser:

The AP reports on the "Mommy Wars," the confluence in less than a month of a campaign-trail scuffle involving Mitt Romney's wife, Ann; Elisabeth Badinter's new book; and most of all a provocative magazine cover — conveniently tied to Mother's Day — all of which has led to a burst of online chatter and a renewal of those "Mommy Wars" headlines.

Editorial:

From The Associated Press/NPR:

But it has also led to reflection, and calls for a cease-fire in those same wars, as well as a jettisoning of the phrase itself. Aren't we finally ready, some are asking, to give it a rest, and acknowledge what many already feel — that there are lots of ways to be a good mother?

"It's time to end the Mommy Wars," wrote Jen Singer recently on her blog, Mommasaid.net. "How about we all stop arguing over which mom works harder and whether or not Ann Romney worked at all and who bakes a better cookie, Hillary Clinton or Barbara Bush?"

"So who's with me?" wrote another prominent "mommy blogger," Katie Allison Granju. "Who will join my proposed campaign of non-violent resistance against the mommy wars?"

The term "Mommy Wars" has been around for at least two decades — it appeared in a 1990 Newsweek piece on the struggle between working and stay-at-home mothers. But the term seems to have expanded to encompass any divisive parenting issue, and it's recycled every time a new motherhood controversy arises.

[...]

Source:

Associated Press

URL:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=153009079

Date:

May 21, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Marriage Structure and Resistance to the Gender Revolution in the Workplace

Submitted by asklar on Fri, 05/18/2012 - 12:03am

In this article, we examine a heretofore neglected pocket of resistance to the gender revolution in the workplace: married male employees who have stay-at-home wives. We develop and empirically test the theoretical argument suggesting that such organizational members, compared to male employees in modern marriages, are more likely to exhibit attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that are harmful to women in the workplace. To assess this hypothesis, we conducted four studies with a total of 718 married, male participants. We found that employed husbands in traditional marriages, compared to those in modern marriages, tend to (a) view the presence of women in the workplace unfavorably, (b) perceive that organizations with higher numbers of female employees are operating less smoothly, (c) find organizations with female leaders as relatively unattractive, and (d) deny, more frequently, qualified female employees opportunities for promotion.

URL:

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2018259

Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990 to 2010

Submitted by asklar on Thu, 05/17/2012 - 2:10pm

New maternal mortality estimates confirm that the number of women dying in pregnancy and childbirth is declining. Along with other indicators, this joint U.N. report validates the fact that we are making progress in saving mothers’ lives, even if progress is slower than what is called for by the Millennium Development Goals.

Rapid progress in some countries demonstrates that when governments take a strategic approach to the safe motherhood challenge -- by deploying trained midwives, ensuring adequate essential supplies, making family planning accessible and providing timely obstetric care to women with complications, we are getting results. Still, there is more work to be done in delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted and every childbirth is safe.

URL:

http://www.unfpa.org/public/home/mothers/MMEstimates2012

Single Motherhood in the United States - A Snapshot

Submitted by asklar on Wed, 05/16/2012 - 10:13am

Single motherhood is very common. Around half of today’s mothers will spend at least some time as the sole custodial parent. At any one time, almost one quarter of mothers are single mothers. Read more about single mothers in this report, including on employment, income, and poverty.

URL:

http://www.legalmomentum.org/our-work/women-and-poverty/single-motherhood-in-the.html

Member Organization:

Legal Momentum

Expanding Work-Life Perspectives: Talent Management in Asia

Submitted by asklar on Wed, 05/16/2012 - 9:26am

Despite increased interest, the topic of work-life effectiveness in Asia has remained relatively under-explored in the research literature, especially in terms of how to best implement work-life practices in different cultural contexts and within specific local economies.

Expanding Work-Life Perspectives: Talent Management in Asia contributes to our knowledge of how organizations can best implement work-life programs in the region by focusing on the experiences of 1,834 high-potential employees working in Asia for U.S.- or European-based multinational organizations.

URL:

http://catalyst.org/publication/530/expanding-work-life-perspectives-talent-management-in-asia

Member Organization:

Catalyst

Survey of Nation’s Top Attorneys Cites Increases During the Past Three Years

Teaser:

According to a recent survey of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), over half of the nation's top divorce attorneys say that they have seen an increase in the number of mothers paying child support during the past three years, and 47% also note a rise in women being responsible for alimony throughout the same time period.

Editorial:

From the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers:

This Mother's Day, it appears that an increasing number of moms will be setting aside time to sign child support and alimony checks. Overall, 56% of the nation's top divorce attorneys say that they have seen an increase in the number of mothers paying child support during the past three years, while 47% also note a rise in women being responsible for alimony throughout the same time period, according to a recent survey of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML).

[...]

In all, 56% of AAML members cited an increase in mothers who pay child support, while 44% said no change, and there was not an observed decrease. Additionally, 47% have noticed an increase in the number of women paying alimony, while 53% said no change.

[...]

Source:

American Association of Matrimonial Lawyers

URL:

http://www.aaml.org/about-the-academy/press/press-releases/alimony/more-women-paying-child-support-and-alimony

Date:

May 14, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

State of the World's Mothers 2012: Nutrition in the First 1,000 Days

Submitted by asklar on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 10:17am

Save the Children’s State of The World's Mothers Report Ranks Niger as the Worst Country in the World to be a Mother

The report shows how low cost solutions like breastfeeding and basic hygiene can save more than 1 million children’s lives each year. Read the report, watch the videos and share info graphics. Then sign our petition to urge World Leaders to support child survival solutions.

URL:

www.savethechildren.org/world-mothers

The Real Reason Women Are More Likely to Fly Solo When It Comes to Work

Teaser:

Barbara & Shannon Kelley look at women who opt out of the mommy track and instead work for themselves.

Editorial:

From the Huffington Post:

I came across an interesting study the other day that found that when it comes to independent work -- freelancing, consulting, you name it -- those indie workers are more likely to be women. According toMBO Partners' Independent Workforce Index, some 8.5 million women are choosing to fly solo when it comes to work, making up 53 percent of all independent workers.

It's all about work life balance and career satisfaction, the study found, adding that many of the women they surveyed are finding their choice to go it alone more rewarding than traditional work.

Sounds quite dreamy, doesn't it?

But when you look beyond the numbers, you realize there's more involved here than the entrepreneurial spirit or the freedom to go to work in your jammies -- which, when you come right down to it, really isn't all that dreamy. One reason for the growing number of women saying "oh, phooey" to the land of nine-to-five may speak to something beyond career satisfaction, and that's the workplace itself, which still skews a little Mad Men, where, for every Don behind the desk, there's a Betty at home to take care of business. (Okay, Betty's been replaced, but you get my point.)

This is especially true for women with kids. Back when we were doing research and reporting for ourbook, we came across a relevant study by Joan Williams, who's a professor at the University of California Hastings College of the Law and director of the Hastings Center for WorkLife Law. Her report, The Three Faces of Work-Family Conflict, authored with the Center for American Progress, found that women with families were often marginalized or even pushed out when their jobs demanded 24/7 availability or when "full time" meant fifty hours a week or more.

[...]

Source:

Huffington Post

URL:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shannon-kelley/women-and-work_b_1480152.html

Date:

May 8, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

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