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Article
Publication date: 10 January 2020

Brandy Snyder

The purpose of this paper is to synthesize findings on the effects of existing paid parental leave programs on infant mortality rates (IMR) in the USA as an attempt to aid in…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to synthesize findings on the effects of existing paid parental leave programs on infant mortality rates (IMR) in the USA as an attempt to aid in efforts for the development of a national paid parental leave policy.

Design/methodology/approach

Three articles were reviewed to analyze findings on the effects of existing parental leave programs on IMR in the USA.

Findings

The results from the three studies analyzed indicate that unpaid parental leave and parental leave with partial wage replacement can reduce IMR in households with college educated, working mothers.

Research limitations/implications

This review is limited due to only having three studies available to synthesize that pertained to the USA. Implications for future research are to examine the effects of fully paid parental leave programs offered by individual organizations on IMR in the USA.

Social implications

Providing a needs-based income replacement policy to mothers who wish to take parental leave after the birth of a child may be the best policy to decrease IMR for infants from all socioeconomic backgrounds.

Originality/value

The findings in this review will aid in the ongoing efforts to develop a national paid parental leave policy in the USA.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 40 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 June 2018

GuÐný Björk Eydal and Tine Rostgaard

The Nordic welfare model is known in the literature for its explicit support of the equal treatment of men and women in both family and gender equality policies as well as its…

Abstract

The Nordic welfare model is known in the literature for its explicit support of the equal treatment of men and women in both family and gender equality policies as well as its achievements in these policy areas. Policy arguments have to promote gender equality and act in the best interest of the child, ensuring that the child access to care from both parents as well as to early childhood education and care. However, the knowledge of how the Nordic welfare states frame and promote active fatherhood remains fragmented.

The chapter asks whether the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) have developed similar policies on fatherhood or have taken different paths. Hence, the chapter examines three main policy areas affecting fatherhood: family law, family cash benefits and paid parental leave. Comparative perspective is applied and the chapter asks how the policies frame and promote active fatherhood while also looking into how fatherhood is shaped in interaction between policies, cultures and the daily practices of fathers.

Results show that while all Nordic governments promote a dual-earner/dual-carer social democratic welfare state model emphasizing the active participation of fathers in the care of their children, variations exist in policy and practices. Care policies and entitlements to a father quota of paid parental leave are a defining factor for enhancing fathers’ role in care of their children and the findings show that Nordic fathers are making use of their quota and gradually increasing their share in taking leave for the care of young children.

Details

Fathers, Childcare and Work: Cultures, Practices and Policies
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-042-6

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 September 2010

Diane‐Gabrielle Tremblay and Emilie Genin

Paid parental leave for both mothers and fathers has fed countless debates. Four years after the implementation of a new parental leave policy in Quebec, this paper aims to assess…

2500

Abstract

Purpose

Paid parental leave for both mothers and fathers has fed countless debates. Four years after the implementation of a new parental leave policy in Quebec, this paper aims to assess how parental leave is perceived in the workplace.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data from employee surveys carried out in a municipal police service, the paper employs analysis of variance techniques to compare the perception of parental leave within two groups of respondents: those who had gone on parental leave and those who had not.

Findings

The findings highlight significant differences between the perceptions of parental leave entertained by the respondents who have taken it up and those who have not yet experienced parental leave.

Social implications

Analysing these differences has produced extremely interesting findings: adopting a public policy is not sufficient; organisations need to make employees feel supported in taking parental leave if they really want the policy to achieve the targeted results.

Originality/value

Paid parental leave is relatively new in Europe and almost non‐existent in North America and few studies have been carried out to measure their perception in the workplace. This research shows how important it is to follow the use of the policy to make sure that it does not have negative impacts for those who use it.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 30 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 September 2012

Jane Parker and James Arrowsmith

The purpose of this paper is to provide contemporary information and analysis of women's location within the service sector of New Zealand; to evaluate the responsiveness of two…

1484

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide contemporary information and analysis of women's location within the service sector of New Zealand; to evaluate the responsiveness of two major policy initiatives designed to ameliorate women's circumstances therein; and to reconceptualise and suggest possible approaches and measures which could inform future government and workplace policy and practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The study primarily employs a thematic analysis of publicly‐available reports, documentation and pertinent academic work. Secondary, independent statistical analyses of nationally‐representative data are used in order to provide the context and rationale for the policy analysis, and to overview key trends and “problem” areas in the service sector for working women in New Zealand.

Findings

New Zealand has a high female labour force participation rate, with more than eight out of 10 female workers employed in service work. Although women remain over‐represented in low‐paid work, they have benefited from service sector growth, higher penetration of professional and managerial work, and some reduction in the gender pay gap. State interventions are justified in equity, labour market and welfare terms, with an emerging focus on “decent work” and productivity. Yet, this analysis of key initiatives for working women reveals an inadequate regulatory and policy framework. The significance and “genderedness” of service work to the economy means that it is increasingly but still insufficiently the focus of economic and social policy.

Originality/value

This study responds to the absence of a contemporary and comprehensive assessment of the location and inequities experienced by different groups of women in New Zealand's service sector, particularly Māori and Pasifika women. It provides a springboard to further analysis of the key trends, themes and policy impacts that it highlights, as well as of a reconceived regulatory approach for women working in the service sector outlined in the Concluding section.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 31 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 November 2020

Marina Kashina and Sergey Tkach

The purpose of this paper is to characterize such a feature of the gender contract of Russian men as fatherhood escape, as well as to determine the social consequences that it has…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to characterize such a feature of the gender contract of Russian men as fatherhood escape, as well as to determine the social consequences that it has for family relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was carried out in the design of qualitative sociology. The methodology is based on the theoretical construct of a gender contract, adapted to modern Russian society and the concept of social practices. The empirical base consists of six expert interviews with specialists in family psychology and conflictology.

Findings

The fatherhood escape in modern Russia is characterized by the depreciation of emotional labor; marking communications with children and caring for them as exclusively female activities; presentation of their employment in the public sphere as a legitimate reason for avoiding family problems; the active use by men of the technique of ignoring replicas of the interlocutor as a technique in communication with family members. This worsens the quality of intra-family communication, leads to the separation of family members from each other, especially children and leads to an increase in their deviant behavior.

Research limitations/implications

The design of a qualitative study makes it impossible to assess the level of prevalence and severity of the phenomenon, this study is a pilot. Its purpose is to record the very fact of the existence of fatherhood escape in everyday family (social) practices. Subsequent studies should be able to show the relationship between fatherhood escape and domestic violence, as well as the role of this trait of the male gender contract in the reproduction of toxic masculinity.

Originality/value

The phenomenon of fatherhood escape and its social consequences in modern Russia is under-studied. This study contributes to the description of this phenomenon on Russian materials and also reveals some of the social consequences of this feature of the male gender contract, in particular its effect on intra-family communication, increasing the risk of deviant behavior of children and complicating the fulfillment by women of the “working mother” gender contract.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 41 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 June 2019

Karen Grandy

This paper aims to examine the media coverage of a new reproductive benefit (oocyte cryopreservation) made available to employees at Apple and Facebook in 2014, in light of an…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the media coverage of a new reproductive benefit (oocyte cryopreservation) made available to employees at Apple and Facebook in 2014, in light of an ongoing public debate around the conflict experienced by women to be both “ideal workers” and “ideal mothers”.

Design/methodology/approach

The study examines the coverage of the new benefit as a news item in major American newspapers and websites. It uses problem/solution frame analysis and provides a qualitative analysis of the leads, journalists’ rhetoric and sources found in 23 news articles on the topic. A rudimentary quantitative analysis of positive and negative solution evaluations is also included.

Findings

All the articles were found to use a problem/solution frame in their presentation of the new benefit as a news item. When biology is presented as at the root of the motherhood/career conflict, as it was by many journalists and their chosen sources, this logically leads to a biotechnological solution, such as egg-freezing. Other potential contributors to motherhood/career conflict, such as rigid and gendered career timelines and inadequate supports for working parents, are largely left out of the discussion – as are potential broader workplace and socio-cultural changes.

Research limitations/implications

This study was limited to news articles only; the coverage of the issue in opinion pieces and in other media might have different findings. An experimentally designed study might lead to interesting findings on the impact of these framing elements (leads, rhetoric, sources) on readers’ responses to this topic.

Originality/value

This study contributes to research on the media coverage of motherhood and to management scholarship on gender, parenthood and work.

Details

Gender in Management: An International Journal , vol. 34 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2413

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 2 July 2010

Catherine Richards Solomon

Purpose – Interest in work/family management among professors has lead to a plethora of research about female professors with children. Very little research exists about…

Abstract

Purpose – Interest in work/family management among professors has lead to a plethora of research about female professors with children. Very little research exists about professors who are fathers. What does exist is comparative in nature. In this chapter, the author takes an in-depth look at such men's work/family management.

Methodology/approach – This chapter presents research from a qualitative study with 25 fathers who are untenured tenure track assistant professors at research universities.

Findings – Most men state a commitment to and valuing of family above all else. Yet the two fatherhood ideologies of breadwinning and involved fatherhood privilege these men by allowing them substantial flexibility in their day-to-day lives and an affirmation of masculinity. At the same time, many struggle to minimize their work involvement to be involved with the day-to-day care of their children.

Originality/value of chapter – This study demonstrates how prevailing ideologies about fatherhood allow men a structural double privilege when constructing their work and family lives.

Details

Interactions and Intersections of Gendered Bodies at Work, at Home, and at Play
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-944-2

Book part
Publication date: 1 June 2007

Mindy L. Gewirtz and Mindy Fried

The past few decades has seen the proliferation of “family-friendly” policies incorporated into the workplace to promote the recruitment and retention of women for whom time to…

Abstract

The past few decades has seen the proliferation of “family-friendly” policies incorporated into the workplace to promote the recruitment and retention of women for whom time to take care of families and elders has been primary. Despite the increase of women in high-level professions, many organizations have cultures that still do not support work-life integration. We propose a paradigmatic shift from family-friendly policy development and solutions focused on compliance transactions – to what we call “strategic organizational development and transformational change.” We take the argument one step further and suggest three powerful organization intervention strategies to build the culture's capacity to accomplish the business strategy, while weaving work-life integration into the DNA of the 24/7 culture.

Details

Workplace Temporalities
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-7623-1268-9

Article
Publication date: 24 April 2007

Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

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Abstract

Purpose

Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

Design/methodology/approach

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Findings

Most companies, like most people, would like to think of themselves as being “ethical” – in other words dealing honestly, respectfully and honorably as they go about their business. In fact “ethics” has quickly become a buzzword of business, almost as if it is some sort of added value like a discount or an extended warranty.

Practical implications

Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

Originality/value

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to digest format.

Details

Strategic Direction, vol. 23 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0258-0543

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 April 2020

Rajesh Premchandran and Pushpendra Priyadarshi

Work-family researchers examining work-family enrichment (WFE) have used a cross-domain model (Frone et al., 2003) to explain relationships between enrichment experienced and the…

Abstract

Purpose

Work-family researchers examining work-family enrichment (WFE) have used a cross-domain model (Frone et al., 2003) to explain relationships between enrichment experienced and the satisfaction reported in the same domain. Recent research points out inconsistencies in this approach, arguing for a source attribution model in which increased satisfaction is reported in the domain where the source of enrichment resides. This study looks at bi-directional WFE and both forms of domain satisfaction, job and family, to explore relative strengths of these relationships in an Indian context, thereby extending theory on source vs cross-domain effects of enrichment.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a single-source cross-sectional study of 508 married individuals working in the services sector in India, each with at least one child in the family. Structural equation modeling is used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The results support the source attribution perspective of enrichment where WFE shows stronger links to job satisfaction, and family-work enrichment (FEW) shows stronger links to family satisfaction. Our study revealed that dual-earners report higher satisfaction levels compared to those from single-earner households.

Originality/value

In addition to advancing theory on source attribution for WFE, this is the first study to focus exclusively on married individuals with children to further help accentuate inter-domain resource transfer. In addition, this is one of the few studies to test out the theory of enrichment through service sector knowledge workers in a developing economy like India, where the service sector contributes to 60% of the GDP.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 41 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

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