American leaders (N = 261) in four realms were studied to assess their views on the helpfulness to workers with family obligations of employers' policies and services. The realms were corporate management, labor unions, the pro-family movement, and the feminist movement. The data were analyzed by leadership realm and gender in relation to policies of two types: (1) scheduling and work arrangements (such as flextime, four-day weeks) and (2) services and benefits (such as child care at work and extended maternity leave). Gender accounted for the respondents' views better than class (management, labor) or social movement (pro-family, feminist) did. Except for feminist men, the men held similar views regardless of leadership realm. The pro-family women differed from the other women (and pro-family men) in failing to view most services and benefits as particularly helpful to employees. Union and corporate women's favorable views on services and benefits suggest that fundamental change in workplace supports for workers' family obligations could develop if more women became leaders in unions and corporations.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bird, C.
1979. Two-Paycheck Marriage.New York: Rawson Wade.
2.
Bohen, H. H.
and A. Viveros-Long. 1981. Balancing Jobs and Family Life.Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
3.
Bureau of the Census.
1983. Child Care Arrangements of Working Mothers: June 1982.U.S. Department of Commerce, Current Population Reports, Series P-23, No. 129. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
4.
Children's Defense Fund.
1983. A Corporate Reader: Work and Family Life in the 1980s.Washington, DC: Author.
5.
Conference Board.
1985. Corporate Financial Assistance for Child Care. Research Bulletin No. 177, Work and Family Information Center. New York: Author.
6.
Conover, P. J.
and V. Gray. 1983. Feminism and the New Right: Conflict over the American Family.New York: Praeger.
7.
Cook, A. H.
, V. R. Lorwin, and A. K. Daniels. 1984. Women and Trade Unions.Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
8.
Edwards, R.
1979. Contested Terrain: The Transformation of the Workplace in the Twentieth Century.New York: Basic Books.
9.
Ellig, B.1984. “What's Ahead in Compensation and Benefits.”Management Review72:56-61.
10.
Farley, J.
(ed.) 1983. The Woman in Management.Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
11.
Feinstein, K. W.
1979. “Directions for Day Care.” In Women's Policy Studies Yearbook, Vol. 4. Working Women and Families, edited by K. W. Feinstein. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
12.
Feldberg, R. L.1980. “`Union Fever': Organizing Among Clerical Workers, 1900-1930.”Radical America3:53-67.
13.
Fisher, J. L.
1982. Employer Support for Families with Child Care Needs.Champaign-Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
14.
Foner, P. S.
1980. Women and the American Labor Movement, Vol. 1. From World War I to the Present.New York: Free Press.
15.
Friedan, B.
1981. The Second Stage.New York: Summit Books.
16.
General Mills Corporation.
1981. The General Mills American Family Report 1980-1981: Families at Work, Strengths and Strains.Minneapolis, MN: General Mills Corporation.
17.
Gilder, G.
1981. Wealth and Poverty.New York: Bantam Books.
18.
Gilbert, N.
1983. Capitalism and the Welfare State: Dilemmas of Social Benevolence.New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
19.
Hartman, H.
1979. “Capitalism, Patriarchy, and Job Segregation by Sex.” Pp. 206-47 in Capitalist Patriarchy and the Case for Socialist Feminism, edited by Z. Eisenstein. New York: Monthly Review Press.
20.
Haslinger, J. A.1984. “Cafeteria Plans: From Bread and Butter to Caviar.”Management Focus31:22-25.
21.
Hunt, J. G.
and L. L. Hunt.1982. “The Dualities of Careers and Families: New Integrations or New Polarizations?”Social Problems29:499-510.
22.
Huber, J.
, C. Rexroat, and G. Spitze.1978. “A Crucible of Opinion on Women's Status: ERA in Illinois.”Social Forces57:549-65.
23.
Kamerman, S. B.
1980. Parenting in an Unresponsive Society: Managing Work and Family Life.New York: Free Press.
24.
Kamerman, S. B.1983. “Child Care Services: A National Picture.”Monthly Labor Review106:35-39.
25.
Kamerman, S. B.
and A. J. Kahn. 1981. Child Care, Family Benefits, and Working Parents.New York: Columbia University Press.
26.
Kanter, R. M.
1978. Work and Family in the United States: A Critical Review and Research Agenda.New York: Russell Sage.
27.
Klatch, R. E.
1987. Women of the New Right.Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
28.
Kovach, K. A.1983. “New Directions in Fringe Benefits.”Advanced Management Journal48:55-62.
29.
Lambert, H.1984. “Just Tell Us What You Want.”Savvy5 (Jan.):69-71.
30.
Land, H.1980. “The Family Wage.”Feminist Review6:55-78.
31.
Levine, H. Z.1984. “Consensus: Child Care Policies.”Personnel61 (Mar./Apr.):4-10.
32.
Marshall, S.1985. “Ladies Against Women: Mobilization Dilemmas of Anti-Feminist Movements.”Social Problems32:348-62.
33.
Martin, P. Y.
1985. “Group Sex-Composition in Work Organizations: A Structural-Normative Model.” Pp. 311-49 in Research in the Sociology of Organizations. Vol. 4, edited by S. B. Bacharach and S. M. Mitchell. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
34.
Miller, T. I.1984. “The Effects of Employer-Sponsored Child Care on Employee Absenteeism, Turnover, Productivity, Recruitment or Job Satisfaction: What Is Claimed and What Is Known?Personnel Psychology37:277-89.
35.
Moldt, K.1981. “Putting Flexibility into Benefit Plans Increases Options.”Iron Age, April 27.
36.
Morrison, D. F.
1976. Multivariate Statistical Methods.New York: McGraw-Hill.
37.
Ornati, O.
and C. Buckman.1983. “Day Care: Still Waiting Its Turn as a Standard Benefit.”Management Review72:57-61.
38.
Pepitone-Rockwell, R.
1980. Dual-Career Couples.Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
39.
Petchesky, R. P.1981. “Antiabortion, antifeminism, and the rise of the New Right.”Feminist Studies7:206-46.
40.
Petersen, D. J.1980. “Flexitime in the United States: The Lessons of Experience.”Personnel57 (Jan./Feb.):21-31.
41.
Pleck, E. H.1976. “Two Worlds in One: Work and Family.”Journal of Social History.10:178-95.
42.
Pleck, J. H.1977. “The Work-Family Role System.”Social Problems24:417-27.
43.
Pogrebin, L. C.
1983. Family Politics.New York: McGraw-Hill.
44.
Schlafley, P.
1977. The Power of the Positive Woman.Arlington, VA: Arlington House.
45.
Schorr, T.1981. “The Demise of the Traditional 5-40 Workweek?”American Journal of Nursing81:1138-41.
46.
Segal, S.1984. “The Working Parent Dilemma.”Personnel Journal63 (Mar.):50-56.
47.
Smith, R. E.
(ed.). 1979. The Subtle Revolution.Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
48.
Stonebraker, P. W.1984. “The Three-Tier Plan for Cafeteria Benefits.”Personnel Journal63 (Dec.):49-57.
49.
Sullivan, J.1981. “Family Support Systems Paychecks Can't Buy.”Family Relations30:607-13.
50.
Viguerie, R. A.
1981. The New Right: We're Ready to Lead.Chicago: The Viguerie Company.
51.
Waldman, E.1983. “Labor Force Statistics from a Family Perspective.”Monthly Labor Review106 (Dec.):16-20.
52.
Zaretsky, E.
1982. “The Place of the Family in the Origins of the Welfare State.” Pp. 188-224 in Rethinking the Family: Some Feminist Questions, edited by B. Thorne & M. Yalom. New York: Longman.
