Overview
More families are struggling in the United States today with the
competing demands of meeting work obligations and caring for loved ones.
Indeed, America exceeds all other industrialized countries in average
hours at work. As reported in the enormous literature on work and
family, the well known "time crunch" experienced by American workers is
critically affecting their ability to care for their families. At the
same time, the United States lags far behind other industrialized
countries, and even behind many developing countries, in public policies
that support working families.
Recognizing the need for a forum to discuss work/family issues with a
focus on class, A Better Balance: The Work and Family Legal Center and
the Barnard Center for Research on Women, along with the Center for
WorkLife Law at the University of California at Hastings and the Barnard
College Center for Toddler Development, planned a summit bringing
together researchers and advocates for better policies on the issues,
representatives from labor and business, and elected officials in New
York City.
The importance of a work/family balance for people of all income
levels is clear, but the organizers of the summit were struck by the
lack of policy analysis in terms of class and the different problems and
solutions that might emerge from a discussion across class lines. Fifty
participants attended a day-long roundtable discussion with a
keynote the preceding night. From this summit emerged certain themes and
a consensus around the need for a comprehensive work/family policy
advocacy agenda for New York City.
As part of its New Feminist Solutions series, the
Barnard Center for Research on Women, together with A Better Balance:
The Work and Family Legal Center, published a report based on
discussions from the summit. Click here to find out
how to download the report, or to request printed copies.
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