Presentat

Leaning Outcomes

These are the learning outcomes for week 3. Upon successful completion of the work this week, you will be able to:

1. Define work/family conflict.

2. Analyze the strategies workers use to deal with work and family conflict.

3. Critique policies designed to foster and enhance family-friendly, diverse, or woman- and minority-friendly relations.

4. Compare the U.S. government’s family leave policies with those in the rest of the developed world.

Gender and Work

Over the past couple of generations, one of the most salient topics in the Sociology of Work has been the the issues that arise as an increasing number of women are choosing to go to college to prepare for a career, and then working after they finish school.

One important ramification of this has been that women are postponing marriage and having children, which has shifted the demographics in places where this pattern is prevalent. When women delay marriage and childbearing, they will inevitably have fewer children over their lifetimes, across a population, simply because the closer they get to menopause without having their first child, the less time they have to have more children. But, as women work, they also tend to choose to have fewer children, due to the time constraints imposed by both work and raising a family. One of the demographic outcomes of this phenomenon has been declining populations in many countries around the world. By declining populations, I mean not only have the rates of population growth been declining, but many parts of the world actually are experiencing shrinking populations, as women on average are having fewer than 2 children. When the total fertility rate (TFR) declines below about 2.1 children per family, the population eventually begins to decline. This may be delayed for some years due to a phenomenon known as population momentum, which ensures that a growing population will continue to grow for about one generation after the TFR goes below 2.1, but eventually, if the birthrate remains below replacement level, the population will begin to shrink. As demographers have taken to saying, female empowerment makes a good form of birth control.

Another ramification has been changes in workplaces, as both men and women have had to adjust to more women in important positions in companies. In the past, women commonly worked until they married, and then stayed at home to have children and care for their family. So, many of the women in offices were young, and carried out clerical duties. Virtually all of the management positions were held by men, and the culture of workplaces represented a male-driven power structure. Because they held some of the lowest positions in the company's hierarchy, women often were disregarded, and sexist attitudes were commonly expressed and often accepted as part of the culture. As more educated women began taking on positions of responsibility, the men had to adjust, as did the women who performed clerical work. And, of course, the educated women had to figure out how to fit into the workplace culture as well. Over time, the culture of workplaces changed, and were more accepting of women, although remnants of sexism remained in many places. Many companies still had a "glass ceiling," discussed in last week's Instructor's Guidance, which allowed women to rise up to positions of power, but only so far. The top positions in the company were still reserved for men. 

A third ramification has been the phenomenon known as the second shift, referring to a new division of labor in the household. Historically, men have been seen as the heads of households, responsible for "bringing home the bacon," while women stayed at home and cared for the children, the meals, and the housekeeping. While women's work was unpaid, it still was hard work, time consuming, and extremely valuable to society. As women have started working outside the home more - and this often is due to financial necessity in the home - there has not been an adjustment in the household division of labor, and the responsibilities of the husband, wife and children. Men have continued to go to work, then come home, expecting food on the table, and an evening of watching football on TV. They have not taken up an equal share of the housework that previously was the responsibility of women. As a result, when women return home from a day of paid labor, they must continue to perform the unpaid labor of caring for the family and household.

The Wage Gap

Perhaps the best known gender and work issue is the persistent gap between what men and women are paid for the same work. This issue is widely discussed among sociologists, economists, and among workers. There are various explanations for this wage gap, and certainly there are numerous factors that contribute to this phenomenon. However, one factor that incorporates the issue of work and family is that employers still expect that female employees will, at some point, want to have children. From a purely economic standpoint, the possibility that a female employee will take time off of work to have a child reduces her worth to the company, and as a result companies are not likely to pay a woman the same amount as a man. Moreover, if women do take time off to have a baby, their career is set behind a man's career, who works straight through. Once a woman's income is reduced due to time off, the lower income will follow her throughout her career, leaving her behind male counterparts.

 

Barry Deutsch and Becky Hawkins

This approach to work and family, and its effects on women's wages, takes us back to the discussion the first week on capitalism. In a purely market economy, women have little recourse to the economic pressures that depress their wages. Capitalist economies need not be controlled completely by markets, however. In fact, most capitalist countries, including the United States, have mixed economies, with elements of government intervention, control, and ownership in their economies. An example of a government policy that might address the gender wage gap due to women having children would be a law requiring companies to provide maternity leave for pregnant women and paternity leave for spouses, for the same period of time. If paternity leave were mandatory, it would eliminate any advantages males had over females for working through childbearing. Such a policy creates a level playing field for all companies, and thus does not discriminate against any company or industry. Such a policy would be justified as enhancing the public good, by supporting strong families.

The Time Bind: Workplace or Home?

As more women work, an interesting phenomenon has resulted. Dubbed the "time bind" by sociologist Arlie Hochschild, this refers to the squeeze many families feel as both the husband and the wife are working. In her study of a large and progressive firm, Hochschild found that even though the company offered employees a variety of family-friendly options like flex time or telecommuting, which would allow employees to adjust their work schedules to take care of family responsibilities, many employees were not taking advantage of these programs. In interviews with employees, Hochschild found that they were choosing to stay at work rather than face the stressful pressures of home life. This represents a significant change in people's perspectives, as in the past people typically saw work as the place of stress and pressure, and home as the peaceful refuge. Now, people see work as their refuge, and home as the source of pressure, with demands from their spouse and children. With both spouses working, there is a lot of time pressure at home. At work, on the other hand, they have parties for co-workers' birthdays, awards for good work, time to gossip with co-workers, and other perks that make the workplace a fun place to be. Even with the stress of deadlines and oversight from supervisors, work is still less stressful than the relentless pressures imposed in a modern home - housework, cooking, laundry, shopping, helping children with homework, driving children to their extracurricular activities, planning family vacations, and paying for all of this. The time bind that puts huge pressures on families is perhaps the best example of the difficulties in balancing work and family in contemporary societies.

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