Women Who Opt Out: The Debate over Working Mothers and Work-Family Balance

Description

In a much-publicized and much-maligned 2003 New York Times article, “The Opt-Out Revolution,” the journalist Lisa Belkin made the controversial argument that highly educated women who enter the workplace tend to leave upon marrying and having children. Women Who Opt Out is a collection of original essays by the leading scholars in the field of work and family research, which takes a multi-disciplinary approach in questioning the basic thesis of “the opt-out revolution.” The contributors illustrate that the desire to balance both work and family demands continues to be a point of unresolved concern for families and employers alike and women’s equity within the workforce still falls behind. Ultimately, they persuasively make the case that most women who leave the workplace are being pushed out by a work environment that is hostile to women, hostile to children, and hostile to the demands of family caregiving, and that small changes in outdated workplace policies regarding scheduling, flexibility, telecommuting and mandatory overtime can lead to important benefits for workers and employers alike. Contributors: Kerstin Aumann, Jamie Dolkas, Ellen Galinsky, Lisa Ackerly Hernandez, Susan J. Lambert, Joya Misra, Maureen Perry-Jenkins, Peggie R. Smith, Pamela Stone, and Joan C. Williams. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 Preface......Page 10 PART I. “Opting Out”: Women’s History and Feminist Legal Theory......Page 14 Introduction: Women, Work, and Motherhood in American History......Page 16 PART II. Is “Opting Out” for Real?......Page 44 1 The Rhetoric and Reality of “Opting Out”: Toward a Better Understanding of Professional Women’s Decisions to Head Home......Page 46 2 The Real “Opt-Out Revolution” and a New Model of Flexible Careers......Page 70 PART III. Can All Women “Opt In” before They “Opt Out”?......Page 98 3 “Opting In” to Full Labor Force Participation in Hourly Jobs......Page 100 4 The Challenges to and Consequences of “Opting Out” for Low-Wage, New Mothers......Page 116 5 The Future of Family Caregiving: The Value of Work-Family Strategies That Benefit Both Care Consumers and Paid Care Workers......Page 132 6 Care Work and Women’s Employment: A Comparative Perspective......Page 150 PART IV. Conclusion......Page 162 7 The Opt-Out Revolution Revisited......Page 164 Bibliography......Page 190 About the Contributors......Page 206 C......Page 208 G......Page 209 M......Page 210 S......Page 211 Y......Page 212