2258 - The Policy Consequences of Work-Family Myths

Session Submission Type: Paper Session 100min

Description

These creative papers explore basic policy-relevant work-family issues from innovative, sometimes even quirky, perspectives that illuminate how wider cultural and societal myths or biases about families are not actually reflected in people's lived experiences. So, a few of the papers explore the complicated ways that individuals are combining heteropatriarchal definitions of the families with more feminist or egalitarian visions, as they make life choices and enact their family, parenting, and intimate partner roles. The Pregnant Workers and Lactating Employees paper is especially great because it explores the difficulties inherent in language about the family -- how gender neutrality as a form of language in business to support family friendly working environments, often only reifies patriarchal, traditional, conservative binary ideas about the nature of women's versus men's employment responsibilities. This session would be of interest to family, policy, and gender studies scholars.

Sub Unit

• Family and Work

Session Organizer

• Laura Ann Sanchez, Bowling Green State University

Presider

• Kei Nomaguchi, Bowling Green State University

Individual Presentations

• Is Two Too Many? Parity and Mothers’ Labor Force Exit - Catherine Doren, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Pregnant Workers and Lactating Employee Rooms: Gender Neutrality in HR's Family-friendly Workplace Discourse - Krista Frederico, University of Arizona

• The Association between Activity Limitations and Work: Gender, Relationship Status, and Sexuality - Russell Leroy Spiker, University of Cincinnati

• Young Adults' Expectations of the Division of Labor in their Future Families - Joanna Pepin, University of Maryland; Brittany N. Dernberger, University of Maryland-College Park