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1 – 10 of over 59000Susan Harkness and Jane Waldfogel
In this paper, we use microdata on employment and earnings from a variety of industrialized countries to investigate the family gap in pay – the differential in hourly wages…
Abstract
In this paper, we use microdata on employment and earnings from a variety of industrialized countries to investigate the family gap in pay – the differential in hourly wages between women with children and women without children. We present results from seven countries: Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Finland, and Sweden. We find that there is a good deal of variation across our sample countries in the effects of children on women’s employment and in the effects of children on women’s hourly wages even after controlling for differences between women with and without children in characteristics such as age and education. We also find that the variation in the family gap in pay across countries is not primarily due to differential selection into employment or to differences in wage structure across countries. We suggest that future research should examine the impact of family policies such as maternity leave and child care on the family gap in pay.
This study investigates whether and when during the life cycle women fall behind in terms of career progression because of children. We use 1987–1997 Norwegian panel data that…
Abstract
This study investigates whether and when during the life cycle women fall behind in terms of career progression because of children. We use 1987–1997 Norwegian panel data that contain information on individuals’ position in their career hierarchy as well as a direct measure of their promotions. We measure overall promotions as increases in rank within the same establishment as well as in combination with an establishment change. Women with children are 1.6 percentage points less likely promoted than women without children; this is what we refer to as the family gap in climbing the career. We find that mothers tend to enter on lower ranks than non-mothers. Thirty-seven percent of the gap can be explained by rank fixed effects and human capital characteristics. A large part remains unexplained. Graphical analyses show that part of the difference already evolves during the early career. Part of this seems related to the relatively low starting ranks.
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The extent to which means-tested transfers, social insurance, and tax credits fill the gap between a family's private resources and the poverty threshold is a periodic barometer…
Abstract
The extent to which means-tested transfers, social insurance, and tax credits fill the gap between a family's private resources and the poverty threshold is a periodic barometer of the social safety net. Using data on families from the Current Population Survey I examine how the level and composition of before- and after-tax and after-transfer poverty gaps changed in response to changes in the policy and economic landscapes over the past two decades. The estimates presented here indicate not only dramatic changes in the level and sources of income maintenance programs filling the poverty gap, but also dramatic changes in which demographic groups successfully fill the gap. From the peak-to-peak business-cycle years of 1979 to 1999, the fraction of the gap left unfilled among non-elderly families in poverty has expanded by 25 percent, while the unfilled gap has increased by 50 percent among single female-headed families, families headed by non-whites, and families residing in the Northeast. In a given year the poor in the South fill considerably less of the poverty gap with cash welfare, but make up for much of the shortfall with higher payments of food stamps, SSI, and SSDI. Over time the poor in all regions of the country have substituted SSI, SSDI, and the EITC for cash welfare. Indeed, by 1999 the unfilled gap for families with related children present would be one-fifth larger without the EITC. With the exception of married-couple families, this apparent rate of replacement of disability payments and tax credits for cash welfare is less than one for one, leaving most poor families, especially non-white families and single female-headed families, financially more vulnerable today than in previous decades.
The prevalence and stability of marriage has declined in the United States as the economic lives of men and women have converged. Family change has not been uniform, however, and…
Abstract
The prevalence and stability of marriage has declined in the United States as the economic lives of men and women have converged. Family change has not been uniform, however, and the widening gaps in marital status, relationship stability, and childbearing between socioeconomic groups raise concerns about child well-being in poor families and future inequality. This paper uses data from a recent cohort of young adults – Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health – to investigate whether disparities in cognitive ability and non-cognitive skills contribute to this gap. Blinder–Oaxaca decompositions of differences in key family outcomes across education groups show that, though individual non-cognitive traits are significantly associated with union status, relationship instability, and single motherhood, they collectively make no significant contribution to the explanation of educational gaps for almost all of these outcomes. Measured skills can explain as much as 25 percent of differences in these outcomes by family background (measured by mother’s education), but this effect disappears when own education is added to the model. Both cognitive and non-cognitive skills are strongly predictive of educational attainment but, conditional on education, explain very little of the socioeconomic gaps in family outcomes for young adults.
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The dramatic increase in the fraction of all Afro‐American families headed by single women accounts for approximately two‐fifths of the Afro‐Euro family income gap. Examines the…
Abstract
The dramatic increase in the fraction of all Afro‐American families headed by single women accounts for approximately two‐fifths of the Afro‐Euro family income gap. Examines the empirical objections to the conclusion that family structure is a major factor behind ethnic inequality and found to be largely without merit. Also critically examines the more normative and more important objection that the family structure argument undercuts the struggle to achieve economic justice for Afro‐Americans. Argues that an emphasis on family structure does not absolve society of responsibility for inequality, nor does it imply that government activism is futile. The family structure argument recasts but does not negate the struggle for economic justice for Afro‐Americans.
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Katharine Ridgway O'Brien, Larry R. Martinez, Enrica N. Ruggs, Jan Rinehart and Michelle R Hebl
This paper aims to highlight interventions that promote female (and male) faculty’s ability to balance work-family issues at a specific academic institution, in response to a…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to highlight interventions that promote female (and male) faculty’s ability to balance work-family issues at a specific academic institution, in response to a demand in the literature that examines the intersection between research and implementation of organizational policies within a university setting.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a case study framework, the researchers present qualitative experiences and quantitative data to evaluate the successful application of a work-family balance and organizational climate improvement initiative within an academic setting.
Findings
By highlighting specific examples of work-family and climate initiatives at the individual, organization, and community levels, this case study presents several ways in which academic institutions specifically, and organizations generally, can implement policies that make a difference.
Practical implications
Successful implementation of work-family balance and family-friendly organizational policies can positively impact employees.
Originality/value
Our goal is to highlight and provide data showing a specific example of how female (and male) faculty members’ experiences can be (and have been) improved in a prototype institution.
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Considers the way in which UK and American pension schemes are structured for women’s poverty and social exclusion in later life. Analyses recent trends in women’s employment and…
Abstract
Considers the way in which UK and American pension schemes are structured for women’s poverty and social exclusion in later life. Analyses recent trends in women’s employment and the impacts on current pension structures. Looks at the impact of different pension schemes and goes on to cover the effect on different classes and ethnicities. States that childcare is currently uncrecognised within pension systems as it is unwaged work and can lead to serious adverse financial impacts on women undertaking this role.
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To examine differences between family and non‐family SMEs in business goals, management practices and performance as they grow.
Abstract
Purpose
To examine differences between family and non‐family SMEs in business goals, management practices and performance as they grow.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was based on 233 small non‐family and 362 small family firms. Medium firms comprised 305 family and 341 non‐family firms. Chi‐square tests and t‐tests were used to investigate the hypotheses formulated.
Findings
Small family firms were less likely to pursue growth compared with similar non‐family firms. Although medium family proprietors desired growth, their actual growth was lower than similar non‐family firms. Management practices were less formal in family firms and the gap between family and non‐family firms in this area widened with growth. Small family firms achieved greater profits than their non‐family counterparts, although this disparity disappeared at the medium level. Exports were low for both firms at the small level. However, medium family firms were less likely than similar non‐family firms to export.
Research limitations/implications
Firms in the various size groups examined were independent of one another. A longitudinal investigation of family and non‐family firms as they progress through various growth stages should complement the findings.
Practical implications
The findings should assist policies makers, advisers, owners and management in designing policies and programs, providing advice and managing the two ownership types. Informal management procedures and the associated flexibility may enhance performance of small family firms but may impede their performance at larger sizes.
Originality/value
The paper demonstrates that the relationship between goals, strategies and performance varies between family and non‐family firms and the variations change with firm size.
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Anam Shahid, Virginia Bodolica and Martin Spraggon
Corporate strategy and family business management.
Abstract
Subject area
Corporate strategy and family business management.
Study level/applicability
The case is designed for usage in senior-level undergraduate courses of strategic management and managing family businesses.
Case overview
This case study relates the story of the launch and development of Zayed Al Hussaini Group, a family business in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The business had been established a year after the unionization of the different Emirates by the founder, Zayed Al Hussaini, in partnership with his brother. Following a series of strategic moves, such as acquisitions and divestures, and adverse family-related events, the Group was led solely by the founder himself. Over the years, Zayed Al Hussaini Group has grown to become a successful family business in various industries of its operation, but following the death of the founder's son, the company activities have been struck with chaos. Zayed's nephew, Ahmed, who had left the family business to continue his studies and work at McKinsey & Company in London, has been called back home after eight years to take the lead of the entire Group. However, he is faced with several challenges, such as dealing with the family gap he has developed over time and balancing family and business priorities. Will Ahmed be able to make the right decisions in the role and responsibilities that have been bestowed upon him?
Expected learning outcomes
To analyse the process of launching a family business and making strategic decisions for managing its development over time.
To assess the potential difficulties and challenges which are associated with managing a family-run organization.
To evaluate the effectiveness of decisions with regards to the company's growth and succession management planning.
To apply relevant theoretical concepts to the analysis of complex situations in the specific context of family businesses.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.
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Xi-Xi Zhang and Jun Wang
The purpose of this study is to examine the lasting effect of reproductive behaviour on career cycles for women. Women are the main bearers of population reproduction and family…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the lasting effect of reproductive behaviour on career cycles for women. Women are the main bearers of population reproduction and family division of labour and a source of innovation for social and economic construction. However, few studies have used a comprehensive theoretical framework to research why female employees suffer from employment exclusion (EE) after multiple births. Therefore, structured equation modelling is used to test the degree of fit between the theoretical model and the data, to verify whether the hypotheses are valid and then make an appropriate interpretation of the theoretical model.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper focusses on working mothers with two or more children and is based on questionnaire surveys, with 306 pieces of primary data obtained. This paper constructed the chained mediation model on the theoretical basis of the conservation of resources theory to examine and analyse the mechanisms of family–work conflict (FWC) and human capital depreciation (HCD) on EE.
Findings
Empirical results suggested that FWC has a significant positive impact on EE, while HCD does not. Chain mediation variables of family orientation (FO) and work engagement (WE) mediated the relationship between FWC and EE significantly, as well as between HCD and EE. Each antecedent positively predicted FO and, through FO, indirectly affected WE, then indirectly affected EE.
Research limitations/implications
In the context of fertility policy adjustment and population structural imbalance, research from the perspective of females may better reflect reality and deepen understanding of EE to avoid it.
Originality/value
Frist, relevant studies mostly study the factors affect in women’s equal employment from the macro levels, and focus on qualitative research, and lack sufficient empirical analysis. Second, this study locates the research object in the group of working mothers with two or more children. The focus of the research objects makes the research conclusions help to improve the work dilemma of special groups. Third, this study has opened up the “black box” between employees’ individual resources and work attitudes and behavior tendencies. Fourth, this study expands the possible outcome variables of FWC.
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