On April 22, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Children and Families held the first in a series of briefings on issues of importance to parents raising children in America today.
Chair Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said that the greatest social change in American society in the past 35 years has been the increase in the number of mothers working outside of the home, but pointed out that the workplace “has been slow to respond to this new reality.” Arguing that society can change if necessary, he stated, “During World War II, women went to work in the factories while the men went off to war. And the workplace bent over backwards to accommodate family needs with child care, grocery services at the worksite, as well as flexible work schedules. Then the men came home from war, and the women went back home too, and that was the end of employer interest in a ‘family friendly workplace.’”
Ellen Galinsky of the Families and Work Institute summarized the institute’s new report, When Work Works. The report contains a number of key findings on families and the workforce, including:
Ms. Galinsky said that one of the most “profound” findings in the study is that 79 percent of all employees would like more flexibility in the workplace. She cited a 2002 study on the changing workforce that found that in organizations with high levels of flexibility, 72 percent of employees plan to retain their employer for the next year, adding, “Retaining employees has direct cost advantages for business. The investment in recruitment, the investment in training, and the investment in replacement of personnel all decrease significantly.” Ms. Galinsky recommended that the federal government establish a commission to examine how to make work “work;” fund programs to provide health care for part-time workers, provide leave for parents to care for sick children, and provide flexible career options for “the one in four women who want to take time out of the workforce;” and enact a campaign to raise awareness on the changing workplace and reduce the conflict between work and family.
The subcommittee also heard testimony from Karen Kornbluh of the Work and Family Program at the New America Foundation. She said that parents are caught in a “Catch 22” because full-time jobs with benefits and higher wages tend to be inflexible and have long hours. Pointing out that researchers had identified a “parent penalty” for women, Ms. Kornbluh stated, “The gap between men’s and women’s wages is 10 to 15 percent larger for women with children than for women without children.” She also noted that single mothers have a difficult struggle when a child must stay home from school. “If she doesn’t show up for work, she could lose her job. And, if she loses a paycheck, she could lose family health insurance as well. If she goes to work, who watches her children? Her neighbors and family have child care responsibilities of their own.” Mr. Kornbluh offered a number of suggestions for Congress, including a nationwide award to recognize excellence in providing employees more workplace flexibility; tax credits for employers who provide more work flexibility; and legislation to require leave for the birth of a child, when a worker, child, or parent is ill, and to participate in family life.
Donna Klein, President and CEO of Corporate Voices for Working Families, said that her organization works with its 47 member corporations to make “the business case that improving the ability of employees to balance their work and family obligations is essential to improving employee and customer satisfaction, decreasing the costs of absenteeism and turnover, increasing retention and improving customer satisfaction all factors in increased productivity and shareholder value.” Her recommendations to Congress include simplifying and promoting the earned income tax credit to increase family economic security, supporting high-quality preschool and after-school programs for school-aged children, examining the laws that govern workplace flexibility, and creating a national commission on elder care.
Joy Bunson of JPMorgan Chase focused her comments on early childhood education, stating, “Children from both low and high socio-economic status families who attend high quality early childhood programs score higher on measures of skills and abilities that are important for school success. Cost-benefit analysis of several programs have found a cost savings of $7 for every dollar invested supporting the notion that early childhood education can be a good investment.” In employee surveys, she said that most employees cited quality back-up child care as their number one issue. She also noted that employees “lost three days a year, on average, of unscheduled leave time due to child care breakdowns…and, studies done by other companies have shown that, in a heavily female workforce, six days a year of unscheduled time due to child care breakdowns is the norm.” Ms. Bunson explained that JPMorgan has built 16 on-site or near-site back-up child care centers, with nearly 15,000 children enrolled. Employees at JPMorgan can use the centers for no cost for up to 20 days per year per child. “When we’ve surveyed employees about the centers’ impact,” she stated, “they’ve told us that having access to quality child care leads to their increased ability to concentrate on the job, improved morale, increased productivity, better attendance, and a huge boost in their commitment to JPMorgan Chase.”
Carol Evans of Working Mother magazine explained that the magazine’s 100 Best list on corporate America analyzes 400 different elements of work/life programs for working parents, including maternity and paternity leave, breastfeeding, and flextime for elder care and child care. Some of the new trends at companies on the list are adoption benefits, support for parents with teens or tweens, flexible scheduling and benefits for part-time employees, and sick and emergency child care. Ms. Evans noted that these benefits are not just for mothers, but that many fathers at the 100 Best are taking advantage of these benefits as well, which can be advantageous for women. “When men use work/life benefits such as parental leave or flextime, it helps lift the stigma for women,” she stated. In concluding, Ms. Evans praised the Senate for including $6 billion for child care in the welfare reform bill (H.R. 4) and urged Congress to continue its support for Head Start.
