For Women to Lead, They Have to Stay in the Game: Why We Need Public Policy to Level the Playing Field

8/10/2019 For Women to Lead, They Have to Stay in the Game: Why We Need Public Policy to Level the Playing Field

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For Women to Lead,They Have to Stay in the GameWhy We Need Public Policy to Level the Playing Field

By Judith Warner December 2014

WWW.AMERICANPROGRESS.O


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For Women to Lead,They Have to Stay in the GameWhy We Need Public Policy to Level the Playing Field

By Judith Warner December 2014


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1 Introduction and summary

4 What public policy could look like

6 Why voluntary employer actions are not enough

9 How public policy can boost womens leadership in the

United States

13 Policy recommendations

22 Conclusion

23 About the author

24 Acknowledgements

25 Endnotes

Contents


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1 Center for American Progress | For Women to Lead, They Have to Stay in the Game

Introduction and summary

Te issue o womens leadership is, a is core, abou womens economic empow-

ermen and advancemen: heir abiliy o ge ino he workorce, say in he work-

orce, and rise. A a ime when roughly hal o all American workers are women

and wo-hirds o amilies rely on a emale breadwinner or co-breadwinner o

make ends mee,1he abiliy o women o ully deploy heir resources and work

o he ull exen o heir capabiliies is o urgen imporance o amily economic

securiyand o he orunes o our naion as a whole.

And ye, he public conversaion abou womens leadership in he Unied Saes

kick-sared over he pas 18 monhs by he colossal success o Sheryl Sandbergs

bes-selling book,Lean In2has been srikingly narrow. In he scope o he

problem i depics, he populaion o women i addresses, and he range o opions

i envisions as means or change, he discussion has been limied in ways ha

have lef he vas majoriy o women ou in he cold. Is hough leaders have been

mosly whie, wealhy, presigiously educaed business leaders, poliicians, and

media celebriies. And he soluions hey have ypically airedrom negoiaing

or beter salaries o closing he confidence gap3hrough sel-improvemen

have presupposed levels o choice, conrol, and empowermen ar ou o he reach

o all bu he mos privileged.

Te narrowness o he conversaion is paricularly sriking because he problem

is, in ac, so broad. Women have ounumbered men on college campuses since

1988.4Tey hold almos 52 percen o all proessional-level jobs.5

Tey have

earned a leas a hird o law degrees since 1980,6were ully a hird o medical

school sudens by 1990,7and since 2002, have ounumbered men in earning

undergraduae business degrees.8And ye, in a broad range o fields, he presence

o women in op leadership posiionsas equiy law parners, medical schooldeans, and corporae execuive officers, or exampleremains suck a a mere 10

percen o 20 percen. (For more deail, please see Womens Leadership: Whas

rue, Whas False, and Why I Maters.9)


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A ruly meaningul approach o addressing and closing he womens leadership gap

has o involve all women. Te social and economic realiies o American lie oday

require us o broaden he concep o leadership. Insead o ocusing exclusively on

rare, elie, op-o-he-pyramid hyper-achievers, we insead mus look a how every

womanregardless o her background, educaion level, or proessional saus

can paricipae o he greaes exen possible in he public lie o our sociey.Ta change o perspecive means aking a very close look a he issues ha cause

women o sall ou in he career pipeline or drop ou alogeher, as boh high-level

proessional women andlow-income women are oo requenly compelled o do.10

Re-examining he issue o womens leadership hrough his lens means shifing he

conversaion away rom wha women can do or hemselves and looking insead a

he srucural impedimens ha keep hem rom achieving heir goals.

And ha shif, his repor argues, ineviably poins o he need or public policy.

Public policy direced a increasing womens leadership opporuniies alls ino

wo main caegories. One se o measures direcly aims o increase womensrepresenaion in poliics and in op corporae leadership roles hrough man-

daed numerical arges or hrough repor or explain provisions, which require

companies o publicly disclose he percenage o women on heir boards and

execuive commitees.11Te oher caegory is work-amily policymeasures such

as paid amily leave, paid sick days and vacaion days, flexible work scheduling,

subsidized child care,and par-ime work wih proporional pay and benefi pariy.

In addiion o osering more opporuniies or women, hese policies also serve

a powerul symbolic uncion, signaling a every level o our sociey ha womens

economic empowermen and advancemen is a public good.

Examples o such policies are deailed in his repor, and include:

ax policies ha encourage womens labor-orce paricipaion Policies ha make high-qualiy, early childhood educaion accessible and affordable A naional sysem o paid amily leave Legislaion guaraneeing all workers he righ o reques flexible work

arrangemens Laws ha proec low-wage and hourly workers agains abusive scheduling

pracices Te use o exising ani-discriminaion laws o pursue employers who sigmaize

workers or aking leave Policies ha incenivize companies o sep up heir effors on behal o womens

advancemen hrough beter reporing and greaer ransparency


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Te need or public policy springs rom he ac ha relying upon employers o

do he righ hing or women jus does no work. While employers are now

grealy moivaed o atrac and reain op emale aleni.e., high-earning proes-

sionalshrough programs and policies ha aim o help hese women say in

heir jobs and hrive, hey have ew, i any, incenives o culivae and inves in

heir lower-wage emale workorce. Public policy can and mus be used o helpwomen who are no already par o he proessional elie o inegrae heir work

and amily responsibiliies, say in he workorce, and rise above he sicky floor

o low-wage, low-saus employmen. Wihou such a goal, he womens leadership

conversaion will necessarily coninue o exclude a grea many women who could

be he key decision makers o omorrow.


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What public policy could look like

While Americans in recen years have defly applied hemselves o making wom-

ens leadership a growh indusry o bes-selling books, sar-sudded conerences,

business consulans, and specialized coaches, oher counries have aken concree

seps over he pas several decades o arge he barriers o womens ull paricipa-

ion in he public lives o heir naions.

For a ull descripion o hese measures and a discussion o how hey affec wom-

ens saus and advancemen, please see Dalia Ben-Galim and Amna Silims repor,Can Public Policy Break he Glass Ceiling? Lessons rom Abroad.12

Public policy direced a increasing womens leadership opporuniies alls ino

wo main caegories: measures direcly aimed a increasing womens represena-

ion in poliics and in op corporae leadership roles, and measures ha seek o

give women he chance o remain in he labor orce and rise.

Quoasabsolue numerical hiring arges ha dicae how many people o speci-

fied groups a company mus hire, wihou aking ino accoun he availabiliy o

oher equally qualified or more qualified candidaes rom oher groupsare no

legally permissible in he Unied Saes13and will no be discussed urher here.

Tere are, however, some exising models or reporing regulaions in he Unied

Saes ha would increase pressure on boh governmen agencies and privae

indusry o sep up effors o promoe women o op leadership posiions. Tis

repor argues ha hese reporing mechanisms should be grealy expanded wih

an eye oward creaing he umos degree o ransparency.

Work-amily policies, which help employees o reconcile heir breadwinning and

caregiving responsibiliies, have a proven rack record o helping women say inhe workorce and, by exension, in he leadership pipeline.14I is no acciden ha

he op our counries in he World Economic Forums 2014 Global Gender Gap


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IndexIceland, Finland, Norway, and Swedenoffer a combinaion o use-i-

or-lose-i paerniy and maerniy leave, ederal paid parenal leave benefis, ax

policies ha suppor child bearing, and pos-maerniy job re-enry programs ha

help women reurn o work afer childbirh.15

In he Unied Saes, opporuniies abound or developing and expanding work-am-ily policies. In he ace o enduring congressional inacion on he issue, a number o

saes and ciies in recen years have aken he lead in bringing abou such changes,

wih 16 ciies and hree saes passing paid sick day ordinances,16hree saes adop-

ing paid amily leave measures,17and Vermon and San Francisco adoping measures

ha give workers he righ o reques flexible work arrangemens. 18

Such policy opions are no only easible on a naional level, hey are also neces-

sary i American womenall American women, no solely he mos orunae

are o work and rise o he ull exen o heir alens and inclinaions. Tese

policies would oser more opporuniies or women and would serve a powerulsymbolic uncion, signaling a every level o our sociey ha womens economic

empowermen and advancemen is a public good.


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Why voluntary employer actions

are not enough

Companies have learned he hard way how cosly and inefficien i is o lose

valued employees who eiher leave or grealy reduce heir ime commimens a

work when hey have children, as a considerable number o highly educaed pro-

essional women now do. According o he Cener or Work-Lie Policy, roughly

one-hird o high-achieving womenhose wih graduae degrees or bachelors

degrees wih honorsleave heir jobs o spend exended ime a home, and 66

percen o such women a some poin swich o a career-derailing par-ime or

flex-ime schedule.19Te desire o avoid losing hese women has proven a keymoivaor in driving companies o adop policies ha help employees inegrae

heir work and home lives. Flexible work arrangemens, or example, have become

much more common in recen years: According o he Bureau o Labor Saisics

Curren Populaion Survey, he proporion o wage and salary workers wih

flexible work schedulesmeaning he abiliy o vary heir work hours o some

degreeincreased rom 13.6 percen in 1985 o 29.6 percen in 2004he las

year or which daa are available.20As o 2008, 79 percen o companies claimed

hey allowed some o heir employees o have flexible work schedules, and 37

percen said hey allowed all or mos o heir employees o do so.21

Te discrepancy beween some and mos says i all. Access o paid leave and

flexibiliy splis nealy by income level. Since employers are no required o offer

all workers basic benefis such as sick pay, vacaion ime, healh insurance, flex-

ibiliy, or paid leave, many employers use hem as perks o atrac and reain al-

engenerally well-educaed and well-paid proessionals. More han 90 percen

o high-wage employees repor ha heir employers allow hem o earn paid ime

off or o change heir schedule i hey have an urgen amily issue. Less han hal o

privae-secor workers in he botom 25 percen o earners, however, can change

heir schedules under such circumsances, and only abou hal o middle-incomeworkers have he righ o hese sors o schedule changes.22


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Te patern holds seady or access o paid parenal leave and paid sick days as

well: 66.2 percen o high-wage workers have access o paid parenal leave, com-

pared wih 10.8 percen o hose who earn he lowes wages. Almos 80 percen

o he highes-paid workers have access o earned sick ime, bu only 15.2 percen

o he lowes-paid workers have he righ o ake paid ime off i hey or a amily

member ge sick.23

Making a business case or policies ha keep women employed and help hem

hrive in he workorce has long been he preerred sraegy or advocaes o womens

economic empowermen and advancemen. I is an argumen ha some highly vis-

ible business leaders such as Deloite and McKinsey & Company are very publicly

using as well. Offering flexible work arrangemens is seen as an effecive way o

atrac and reain valuable emale proessionals. Ye he majoriy o women do no

have jobs in which hey are considered he high-value alen ha employers ry o

woo and culivae. Sixy-wo percen o employed women are hourly workers,24and

a majoriy o minimum-wage workers in America are emale.25

Low-wage workers are rouinely subjeced o workplace pracices ha are rig-

idly inflexible or employees while offering opimal flexibiliy or employers

unpredicable scheduling, las-minue work assignmens, being sen home on

a momens noice when business is slow, las-minue required overime, or he

pracice o puting employees on call, where hey mus commi o being available

or a shif wihou any guaranees as o wheher hey will be asked o work during

ha shif. As a resul, hese employees are being pushed ou o he workorce a

he same or greaer raes han he beter-off women whose oping ou sories

receive he lions share o media atenion.26

Te rae o employee urnover in hourly low-wage jobs is enormous.27Ye he

business case or improving jobs or low-income and hourly paid women so hey

will say he coursevalid, solid, and long-esablished hough is evidence base

may behas proven o have litle or no real-world power.28


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Susan J. Lambert, an associate professor in the School of Social Service Administra-

tion at the University of Chicago, has put forth a cogent and convincing argument

as to why voluntary employer-provided benefit programs are not enough to bring

workplace supports to the women who need them most. In an era of financializa-

tion, when companies are viewed as assets to be bought and sold and are judged for

their value as investment vehicles, the goal is maximizing short-term profits largely

by reducing the cost of doing business. Low-level employees are merely costs to be

managed, and are seen as replaceable and interchangeable. Since there are no mini-

mum hour requirements imposed on employers and no requirement that employers

provide benefits to part-time workers, it is not costly for managers to keep people

on payrollto overhire so that there is a large pool to draw from at the last minute.

Absenteeism and employee turnover are now considered an acceptable part of the

price of doing business.

29

For all these reasons, Lambert makes clear, the argument that voluntary actions

or market forces will eventually lead to job-quality improvements for low-wage

or hourly workers is profoundly misguided. Theres not enough data in the world

to convince employers to provide employees with supportive policies in low-level

hourly jobs,she has said.30

Voluntary employer programs in theera of financialization


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How public policy can boost womens

leadership in the United States

Keeping women in the workforce

Evidence rom oher counries has long shown ha measures such as advana-

geous ax policies or second earners, child care subsidies, and access o flexible

work arrangemens increase womens labor-orce paricipaion, which is a neces-

sary precondiion or heir long-erm career advancemen.31In he Unied Saes,

he evidence base is much more narrow, as here are so ew exising policies.

Noneheless, research in he Unied Saes has shown ha parens who receivechild care suppor are more likely o be employed and have greaer work sabiliy

han hose who do no receive aid. Single mohers who receive help wih child

care are nearly 40 percen more likely o reain employmen over wo years han

hose who lack i.32

Paid amily leave has also been proven o help promoe womens workorce

paricipaion. A 2012 sudy conduced by he Cener or Women and Work a

Rugers Universiy ound ha women who used paid leave were much more likely

o be working nine monhs o a year afer a babys birh han were hose who did

no ake any leave. Te sudy also ound ha women who ook paid leave were 39

percen less likely o receive public assisance and 40 percen less likely o receive

ood samps in he year afer a childs birh.33

Changing social norms

Employer-generaed work-lie policies can make a real difference in he land-

scape o opporuniy ha womenand menencouner a work. Bu i hese

policies coexis wih workplace norms and atiudes ha cas aspersion onanyone who makes use o hem, hen heir power o bring change disappears.

Tis, unorunaely, has been he case in many American workplaces,34which

nowperhaps more han everdisproporionaely reward hose who pu in


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10 Center for American Progress | For Women to Lead, They Have to Stay in the G ame

long hours and are willing and able o show 24/7 devoion o heir jobs.35Wha

Universiy o Caliornia, Hasings College o he Law proessor Joan Williams

has called he ideal worker normhe image o an employee, ypically male,

who can dedicae himsel enirely o his job while his wie labors a homehas

no changed wih he imes. I anyhing, in an economically insecure era, i has

srenghened. One resul o his phenomenon, Williams and ohers have argued,is ha a harsh flexibiliy sigma36now ataches o people, male or emale, who

flou he norm by making use o work-amily policies such as paid leave and flex-

ible work arrangemens.

Public policy has he poenial o address and reverse ha sigma. I has a unique

abiliy o do so because he orce o law operaes hrough dual uncions. Laws

concreely compel cerain behaviors and suppress ohers, and hey also sym-

bolically express wha sociey considers normaive and desirable. As sociolo-

gis Shelley J. Correll, direcor o he Clayman Insiue or Gender Research a

Sanord Universiy, has writen, laws imply a social consensus ha a paricularconduc is wrong or no wrong, and his implied consensus influences individual

moral judgmens and behaviors.37

How work-family policies can express social norms

In European counries wih exremely long paid maerniy leave policies and

generous child subsidies, he norm o mohers saying home wih heir children

has been expressed and srenghened by public policy. Te resul has been ha

womens labor-orce paricipaion is lower and he moherhood pay penaly is

higher.38Counries wih highly developed subsidized child care sysems, on he

oher hand, have sen he message ha women should remain atached o he

workorce, and such counries generally have higher emale workorce paricipa-

ion.39Te uninended radiionalis consequences o general maernal suppors

have pushed some progressive counries in recen decades o rehink heir amily

policies so ha hey reinorce conemporary ideals o gender equaliy. Sweden,

or example, has enorced a use-i-or-lose-i sysem or paid parenal leave since

1995 o ensure ha boh ahers and mohers make use o he benefi. Afer i

inroduced ha policy, more han 80 percen o ahers began o ake advanageo heir righ o paid parenal leavea massive change in social behavior, which

some view as a caalys o redefining masculiniy, as Universiy o Souh Florida

proessor Joseph A. Vandello has said.40


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We do have an example in he Unied Saes o one piece o legislaion ha simi-

larly changed norms in erms o gender and work roles: he Family and Medical

Leave Ac, or FMLA, o 1993, which graned workers who mee cerain condi-

ions he righ o 12 weeks o unpaid, job-proeced parenal leave. However

parial and insufficien ha law may be, i has noneheless sen a message ha

employers need o acknowledge and adap o he ac ha mos workers odayahers and mohersmus combine wage earning wih amily caregiving respon-

sibiliies.41Former U.S. Supreme Cour Chie Jusice William H. Rehnquis,

hardly a progressive, echoed ha message loud and clear when he argued in a

majoriy opinion in he 2003 case,Nevada Deparmen of Human Resources v.

Hibbs, ha he FMLA expressed a new social consensus abou gender norms

aimed explicily o figh bias agains women. He wroe:

By creaing an across-he-board, rouine employmen benefi for all eligible

employees, Congress sough o ensure ha family-care leave would no longer be

sigmaized as an inordinae drain on he workplace caused by female employ-ees, and ha employers could no evade leave obligaions simply by hiring

men. By seting a minimum sandard of family leave for all eligible employees,

irrespecive of gender, he Family and Medical Leave Ac atacks he formerly

sae-sancioned sereoype ha only women are responsible for family caregiv-

ing, hereby reducing employers incenives o engage in discriminaion by basing

hiring and promoion decisions on sereoypes.42

Caherine Albison, a proessor o law and sociology a he Universiy o

Caliornia, Berkeley School o Law, has urher heorized ha he FMLA has had

he power o change he meaning o leave-aking, so ha insead o being viewed

as proo o a workers lack o dedicaion, i is insead he exercise o a undamen-

al righand, by exension, an ac ha is socially approved. o es ha heory,

she, Correll, and colleagues ran an experimen o see wheher peoples awareness

ha he FMLA was in effec in a cerain workplace was enough o change heir

atiudes oward people who ook leave. Subjecs in he experimen were old

o ormally evaluae hree people a a firm, all o he same gender, one childless,

one a paren who ook amily leave, and one a paren who did no. Te subjecs

were given files or each employee in which, in he experimenal condiion, he

descripion o he companys benefis included a paragraph saing clearly ha hecompany was covered by he FMLA; in anoher condiion, here was no menion

o a leave policy; and in a hird condiion, here was menion ha he company


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had is own amily leave policy. Tey ound ha when he subjecs believed ha

he employees were covered by he FMLA, heir biases agains employees who

ook leave disappeared. Having a volunary policy on he books helped eliminae

bias, oo, bu no nearly as much.43

Psychologiss Laura G. Barron and Michelle Hebl have ound a similar effecon atiudes and bias rom sexual orienaion ani-discriminaion legislaion. In

hree sudies, combining phone surveys, field sudy, and lab work, hey ound

ha communiy awareness o sexual orienaion ani-discriminaion legislaion

led o reduced levels o acual inerpersonal discriminaion. Tey concluded

ha he mere ac ha discriminaion is labeled as illegal (wihou he hrea o

enorcemen) may be sufficien o creae a symbolic effec in changing communiy

norms regarding he accepabiliy o prejudice and discriminaion. Teir research

findings, hey wroe, provide evidence ha such laws do affec rue, underlying

principles o communiy accepance, and corresponding inerpersonal behaviors

in he employmen sphere.44

I laws were in place o guaranee all workers access o suppors such as paid am-

ily leave, paid sick days, and workplace flexibiliy, heir exisence would no only

compel differen employer behavior or ear o lawsuis; hey would also send a

symbolic message ha our sociey believes ha he abiliy o combine work and

careaking is a social good. Such an expression o social consensus could boh

reduce he sigma ha now ataches o workers who do no devoe hemselves

24/7 o work and help normalize he noion ha a good worker, male or emale, is

someone who knows when and how o deach rom work and ake ime or lie.


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Policy recommendations

Policies o address he womens leadership gap mus operae on wo levels:

Tey mus aim o keep women in he workorce in condiions ha allow hem

o hrive, and hey mus send a symbolic message ha combining wage earning

and caregiving is a socially sancioned, posiive, and necessary aciviy or men

and women alike.

Tax policies that encourage womens labor-force participation

Marriage penalies and oher disincenives in he ax code can discourage women

wih caregiving responsibiliies rom working.45Te Earned Income ax Credi, or

EICa ully reundable ax credi or low-income working amilieshas, how-

ever, been proven o encourage womens employmen.46Te improvemens o he

EIC ha were included in he American Recovery and Reinvesmen Ac should

also be made permanen in order o widen he benefis o he program.

Te 21s Cenury Worker ax Cu Ac, inroduced by Sen. Paty Murray (D-WA)

in March 2014, is a new piece o proposed legislaion ha would encourage house-

holds o have wo working parens by allowing a 20 percen deducion on a second

income when boh spouses are employed and here is a child under age 12 in he

home.47Alhough i succeeds in sending a symbolic message abou he need o

enable raher han discourage he workorce paricipaion o all aduls in a amily, he

law is problemaic. As a ax deducion raher han a ax credi, i delivers he larg-

es benefi o upper-income axpayers. Te average ax cus i provides or amilies

in he second and middle quinile o he income disribuion$413 and $557,

respecivelyare no amouns ha would meaningully make a den in significan

expenses, such as child care, ha accrue when boh parens are employed.48

A ruly meaningul orm o ax relie or working parens would need o be ar

more generous and more universally applicable.


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Policies that make high- quality, early childhood education

accessible and affordable

Our curren child care policies are grossly insufficien o mee he needs o

odays working amilies. Te Child Care and Developmen Block Gran, or

CCDBG, sysem provides vouchers o help only he naions needies amilies,and is so poorly unded ha, in 2012, only one in six children eligible or assis-

ance received i.49Te Child and Dependen Care ax Credi, which reim-

burses amilies or a percenage o heir oal child care coss, is no reundable,

which means ha low-income amilies, who do no owe income axes, are no

eligible o receive i.

Te Child and Dependen Care ax Credi would be a more meaningul way o

help working amilies i i were made reundable. Te oal amoun o he credi

should also be augmened o help middle-class amilies more realisically address

he rue cos o high-qualiy child care. Te Helping Working Families AffordChild Care Acinroduced in he Senae in July by Sens. Paty Murray, Barbara

Boxer (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Kirsen Gillibrand (D-NY)

addresses boh hese issues by increasing he size o he ax credi and making i

ully reundable.50

o bring universal access o pre-K o all 4 year olds, we also need legislaion

such as he Srong Sar or Americas Children Ac, inroduced in November

2013 by Sen. om Harkin (D-IA), Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY), and Rep.

George Miller (D-CA).51Tis law would increase access o high-qualiy pre-

school and early learning and child care programs or children under age 5 by

insiuing sae and ederal parnerships wih unding argeed a amilies o 4

year olds wih incomes a or below 200 percen o he ederal povery level.52

We also need o more generously und Head Sar and he Child Care and

Developmen Block Gran program. In addiion, we need o change he amily

eligibiliy requiremens or he CCDBG program o allow children more secu-

riy and sabiliy wih heir caregivers, and we should require he saes admin-

isering he grans o conrac direcly wih high-qualiy child care providers,

raher han providing vouchers direcly o amilies.53


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A national system of paid family leave

Te Family and Medical Insurance Leave Ac, or FAMILY Ac, is a proposal or paid

amily and medical leave inroduced in lae 2013 by Sen. Gillibrand and Rep. Rosa

DeLauro (D-C).54Te legislaion would provide up o 12 weeks o paid leave each

year o qualiying workers or he birh or adopion o a new child, he serious illnesso an immediae amily member, or a workers own medical condiion. Workers

would be eligible o collec benefis equal o 66 percen o heir ypical monhly

wages, wih a capped monhly maximum amoun o $1,000 per week.

Tere are a variey o possible mehods or unding and adminisering a paid amily

leave insurance sysem, including public-privae parnerships or a sysem in which

he ederal governmen would incenivize saes o se up heir own programs. 55Te

Cener or American Progress believes, however, ha any paid amily and medi-

cal leave insurance program mus mee a se o minimum sandards ha include:

universal coverage or all workers, guaraneed paid leave o equal lengh or bohmen and women, a comprehensive descripion o he reasons or aking ime off ha

akes ino accoun odays diverse amilies and care responsibiliies, a level o wage

reimbursemen ha allows employees o mee heir basic needs, and proecion or

workers agains discriminaion or realiaion or needing or aking leave.

Legislation guaranteeing all workers the right to request flexible

work arrangements

Righ-o-reques legislaion is a sof approach o workplace flexibiliy ha has

been adoped in he Unied Kingdom,56Ausralia,57and New Zealand.58Under

such laws, employees are graned he righ o reques flexible work arrangemens,

and employers are required o seriously consider hese requess and provide

jusificaion i hey are rejeced. In he Unied Kingdom, which in 2003 became

he firs counry o pass a righ-o-reques law, surveys have shown he measure

o have considerable success: In 2011, approximaely 79 percen o employee

requess or flexible work arrangemens were graned ully or in par.59

San Francisco and Vermon are he firs ciy and sae o have adoped such lawsin he Unied Saes. Te San Francisco ordinance requires employers o respond

in wriing o an employees reques or flexible work arrangemens or predic-

able scheduling wihin six weeks, and o provide a bona fide business reason


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i he reques is denied.60Vermons saue, conained in he saes recen equal

pay legislaion, requires employers o consider such requess wice in a calendar

year bu does no speciy a ime rame or responding. I also denies employees

a privae righ o acion i heir flexibiliy requess are denied.61Te mos recen

proposal or ederal legislaion o his ype, he Schedules ha Work Ac, was

inroduced in July by Reps. George Miller and Rosa DeLauro. Te bill wouldproec all employees rom realiaion or making a reques or a more flexible,

predicable, or sable schedule. I would also require employers o provide a

bona fide business reason or reusing such requess rom employees who ask

or schedule changes because o caregiving duies or healh condiions, or o

mee he demands o a second job or an educaion or raining program.62Ideally,

any uure legislaion will conain srong provisions o comba noncompliance,

discriminaion, and realiaion.63

Laws that protect low-wage and hourly workers against abusivescheduling practices

We also need legislaion o proec vulnerable workers agains pracices such as

on-call scheduling. In oher counries, hese proecions are ofen achieved on a

large scale hrough collecive bargaining, bu in he Unied Saeswhere only

6.7 percen o privae indusry workers and 11.3 percen o workers overall are

covered by collecive bargaining agreemenshis is no a possibiliy.64

Te San Francisco righ-o-reques legislaion saes ha employees have he righ

o ask or predicabiliy, as well as flexibiliy, in heir scheduling.65Criics noe,

however, ha he likelihood o low-income, low-saus, hourly workers succeeding

wih such requess is no grea. Tere are some saes in which some proecions

do exis or vulnerable hourly workers. Caliornia, Connecicu, Washingon,

D.C., Massachusets, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and

Rhode Island all have some reporing-ime-pay legislaion, under which employ-

ees are paid or a minimum number o hours in cases where hey show up or

heir scheduled shif and are sen home because he employer eels hey are no

needed. However, he Cener or Law and Social Policy noes ha hese laws are

no always well enorced or well known and pose a significan burden o risk onemployees or he promise o generally palry damages awards.66


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Te Schedules ha Work Ac o 2014 conains provisions o proec workers

agains abusive scheduling pracices. I would guaranee ha a minimum level o

compensaion be provided or reail, ood service, and cleaning workers i hey

repor o work when scheduled and are sen home early. I would also require

employers o inorm hese employees o heir work schedules a leas wo weeks in

advance, and would provide workers wih one hour o exra compensaion i heirschedules are changed a he las minue or i hey are required o work spli shifs,

or nonconsecuive shifs wihin a single day.67Some expers, such as Susan Lamber

o he Universiy o Chicago, urher propose providing benefi pariy or par-ime

and ull-ime workers alike, as is required in he European Union, where par-imers

are guaraneed access o pro-raed ull-ime benefisall wih he goal o increas-

ing he fixed coss o labor in hourly jobs so ha employers are moivaed o inves

in employees in ways ha enhance heir produciviy and reduce urnover. 68

Such ar-reaching changes o our naions basic labor sandards are unlikely o be

realized anyime soon. Bu here are governmen acions ha can a leas begin oraise public awareness o he problem o unpredicable scheduling and prepare he

errain or more ar-reaching public policy reorms in he uure. As he Cener or

American Progress has previously recommended, Congress should, or example,

hold hearings on he pracice o mandaory overime o deermine wheher he Fair

Labor Sandards Ac should be amended o prohibi he pracice. Congress should

also hold hearings ha explore how he governmen migh mos effecively incen-

ivize he business communiy o implemen predicable scheduling soluions

such as using echnologyo give workers more conrol over heir own schedules

and permiting hem o work ou scheduling changes wih oher employees. 69

The use of existing anti-discrimination laws to pursue employers

who stigmatize workers for taking leave

Discriminaion agains workersusually, hough no exclusively, women who

make use o heir companies amily leave or work flexibiliy policiesis wide-

spread and insidious.70Such caregiver discriminaion, expers argue, is a proxy or

gender bias and as a resul is grounds or legal acion under ile VII o he Civil

Righs Ac o 1964, which prohibis discriminaion based on sex. Women whoreques or adop a flexible work schedule engage in sereoype-consisen and

devalued behavior, while men who ake leave or adop a flexible schedule engage

in sereoype-inconsisen and couner-normaive behavior, Sephanie Bornsein

explained in a 2013 journal aricle, coninuing o say ha he penalies ha boh

encouner as a resul are based on impermissible gender-sereoypical belies.71


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In line wih his reasoning, he Equal Employmen Opporuniy Commission

has issued guidance on how o use ani-discriminaion laws, including ile VII,

o comba discriminaion agains workers wih caregiving responsibiliies.72Tis

legal sraegy has proven highly challenging, however, raising he quesion o

wheher more comprehensive proecions are needed o guaranee proecion

agains such discriminaion. A more promising avenue may lie in passing legisla-ion ha explicily prohibis discriminaion based on amily responsibiliies, or

parenhood, as he sae o Alaska has done, along wih he Disric o Columbia

and a number o oher U.S. ciies and counies.73Te Cener or WorkLie Law

a he Universiy o Caliornia, Hasings College o he Law noes as well ha an

execuive order prohibis discriminaion agains ederal governmen employees

based on saus as a paren.74

Policies that incentivize companies to step up their efforts on

behalf of womens advancement through better reporting andgreater transparency75

Te ederal governmen can creae incenives or companies o do a beter job in

racking heir hiring and promoion o women. A srong example o his ype o

legislaion exiss in Ausralia, where he 2012 Workplace Gender Equaliy Ac

now requires non-public-secor organizaions wih 100 or more employees o

annually repor heir progress on six measures o gender equaliy, including he

gender composiion o heir workorce, gender composiion o heir governing

bodies, equal pay beween men and women, and he availabiliy and use o flexible

work arrangemens and oher suppors or employees wih careaking responsi-

biliies.76Te law also requires employers o noiy shareholders when hey have

submited hose repors o he governmen and o provide shareholders wih

access o hem.77Ausralias Workplace Gender Equaliy Agency will aggregae he

daa and develop benchmarks o allow invesors o deermine how a companys

gender-equaliy effors compare o hose o is compeiors.78Saring his year,

he governmen will also give a ciaion o employers who can paricularly prove

hey equally suppor women and men o reach heir ull poenial.79

In addiion, he ASX Group, which runs he Ausralian Securiies Exchange, adopeda comply or explain disclosure rule in 2010, requiring companies o develop

policies o improve heir gender diversiy or explain why hey have chosen no o.

Popularly called he i no, why no rule, his regulaionwhich wen ino effec

in 2012specifies ha companies mus disclose he percenage o women on heir


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boards and in senior managemen and provide progress repors on meeing oher

gender-equiy goals.80In combinaion wih a new menoring and sponsorship pro-

gram or emale board members ha was pu ino place by he nonprofi Ausralian

Insiue o Company Direcors in 2010, he number o women siting on boards has

grealy increased. Women wen rom being 5 percen o all new board appoinmens

in 2009 o 28 percen in 2011.81

Overall, he percenage o women board direcorsincreased rom 8.5 percen in April 2010 o 13.8 percen in March 2012.82

In he Unied Saes, here are wo curren governmen regulaions ha aim o

increase he represenaion o women in op corporae posiions. In 2009, he

Securiies and Exchange Commission, or SEC, adoped a rule ha requires publicly

held companies o disclose in heir annual proxy and inormaion saemens heir

consideraion o diversiy in selecing board members and show how effecive

hose consideraions have been.83In 2010, Secion 342he so-called Diversiy

Clause o he Dodd-Frank Wall Sree Reorm and Consumer Proecion Ac

creaed 20 Offices o Minoriy and Women Inclusion a various agencies ha regu-lae he financial services indusry and charged hem wih assessing and monioring

diversiy pracices a he agencies, among heir conracors or subconracors, and

in he eniies hey regulae.84Criics have assailed boh measures as largely ineffec-

ual.85Unhelpully, he SEC was one o he las agencies covered by he law o hire a

direcor or is Office o Minoriy and Women Inclusion.86

In a March 2013 public saemen, SEC Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar noed:

Tere are many ha believe ha o ruly mee he needs of invesors, a proxy

saemen would need o sae he gender and racial or ehnic background of

incumben direcors and nominees, and wheher or no he board or nomina-

ing commitee akes such aspecs of diversiy ino accoun in idenifying and/or

evaluaing poenial board candidaes. Te proxy saemen should disclose how

he board defines diversiy. If a company has no women or persons of color on

is board, i should sae wheher or no i has considered addressing his lack of

diversiyand if no, why.87

He praised public companies ha make diversiy disclosures beyond wha SEC

rules now require and called upon ohers o do beter, aking pains o highlighin some deail he work o groups involved in effors o promoe diversiy in he

boardroom. Formalizing he commissioners enhusiasm in new SEC rules would

be he mos effecive way o make such disclosures sandard pracice.88


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Tere also now exis some model programs ha atemp o creae greaer rans-

parency in he area o equal pay ha could perhaps be expanded o cover oher

gender-equiy measures. New Mexico, or example, has since 2010 required

all companies seeking o conrac wih he sae o provide basic pay-equiy

reporsa measure mean as an incenive o companies o examine and correc

gender pay gaps.89

And a public-privae parnership announced in Boson in 2013called 100% alen: Te Boson Womens Compac, had by early his year unied

50 businesses, including Blue Cross Blue Shield o Massachusets, o sign a pledge

agreeing o sel-assess heir wage daa o examine heir records on pay equiy and

o anonymously share heir wage daa wih a hird pary every wo years.90While

hese iniiaives are new and very parial, heir mere exisence may begin o erode

business opposiion o he noion o disclosure and may provide he sar o a

roadmap or how more subsanive reporing migh work.

A he Whie House Summi on Working Families in June, Presiden Barack

Obama sen a powerul message boh abou he need or new norms in heAmerican workplace and abou he governmens power o direc widespread

behavioral and atiude change. He direced ederal agencies o grealy increase

heir effors o expand flexible workplace policies, review heir flexibiliy pro-

grams, and repor back boh bes pracices and barriers o heir use. In addiion,

he esablished a job-proeced righ o reques flexible work arrangemens or

ederal workers and direced agencies o esablish procedures or addressing

hese requess.91

In he uure, he presiden and his adminisraion could do even more. Because

more han one-fifh o he American workorce is employed by companies ha

have conracs wih he ederal governmen, policies ha nudge conracors o

increase he hiring, promoion, and reenion o women would have an ousized

effec on he American labor marke.92Federal conracors are subjec o Execuive

Order 11246, which prohibis sex and race discriminaion in he ederal conrac-

or workorce and requires ederal conracors o pu in place affirmaive acion

programs o improve he recruimen and reenion o minoriies and women.93

Te Deparmen o Labors Office o Federal Conrac Compliance Programs

enorces Execuive Order 11246 by requiring sel-monioring on he par o con-

racors and conducing sysemaic reviews o conracors employmen praciceso look or evidence o discriminaion.94


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Moving orward, he governmen could:

Supply he Office o Federal Conrac Compliance Programs wih addiional

resources o reinvigorae heir gender equaliy audis o ederal conracors,

and consider expanding hose audis rom heir radiional glass ceiling ocus

on execuive women o ocus on he reenion and advancemen o women innonexecuive posiions95

Insruc he Deparmen o Labor o include evidence o caregiver discrimina-

ion as a acor in is gender bias audis and provide echnical assisance o ed-

eral conracors in examining heir workplace policies wih regard o caregiver

discriminaion96

Reward poenial conracors in compeiively bid conracs by providing

addiional poins o hose employers who provide paid amily leave and flex-

ibiliy o heir employees and who ake acive seps o discourage caregiverdiscriminaion97


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Conclusion

When he discussion o womens leadership is expanded o include he vas

majoriy o women, raher han jus hose who are already he mos successul, i

becomes much more complex. Te reason is simple: Tere is a wide experienial

gap ha divides he mos well-off Americans, men and women alike, rom all oh-

ers in our sociey.

Low-income women are sruggling o succeed and survive in a work culure in

which hey are no valued, much less culivaed as workers. Tese women wouldbe he greaes direc beneficiaries o public policies such as ax relie, child care

suppors, paid amily leave, and flexibiliy legislaion ha includes measures o

promoe predicable scheduling. Upper-income women mosly have access o

such policies hrough heir employers. Teir challenges are largely culural: pres-

sures and atiudes, boh rom heir workplaces and o a cerain exen rom wihin

hemselves, ha make a lie o high-level work achievemen and saisying amily

connecion exremely difficul. Middle-class women are caugh in beween hese

wo worlds, hough in heir lack o policy suppors, hey have more in common

wih low-income women han is commonly recognized.

Even hough well-off women would no, by and large, be he chie beneficiaries o

public policy, as hey already, disproporionaely, have access o work-amily sup-

pors hrough heir employers, he indirec effecs o policyhe symbolic and

expressive effecs o lawwould be equally powerul or all. Te womens leader-

ship gap, based so grealy on srucural acors and atiudes ha push women

down and ou, will no close unil we reach a new social consensus abou how we

work and how we wan o live our lives.

For now, public opinionwhich overwhelmingly avors policies such as affordablechild care, paid amily leave, and workplace flexibiliyis ar ahead o our laws. Te

price o his disconnec is paid, every day, by every working amily in our naion.


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About the author

Judith Warneris a Senior Fellow a he Cener or American Progress. She is

also a conribuing wrier or Te New York imes Magazine and a columnis or

ime.com. She is bes known or herNew York imesbesseller, Perfec Madness:

Moherhood in he Age of Anxiey, and her ormerNew York imes column,Domesic Disurbances. Her laes book, Weve Go Issues: Children and Parens

in he Age of Medicaion, received numerous awards. From 2012 o 2013, she was a

recipien o a Rosalynn Carer Fellowship or Menal Healh Journalism.


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Acknowledgements

Tis paper could no have been writen wihou he very kind and generous

suppor o my colleagues a he Cener or American Progress. I am paricularly

indebed o Jocelyn Frye, Carmel Marin, Bridge Peruczok, Ann OLeary, Alex

Tornon, Melissa Boeach, David Madland, and Kaie Hamm or heir helpwih he inricacies o policy. Ann OLeary and Sarah Jane Glynn were, as always,

invaluable readers. Emily Baxer was an assiduous researcher and grea all-around

suppor, and he conribuions o aylor Craynor and Mary Lou Ferguson were

deeply appreciaed. I am also graeul o he ar and ediorial eams or heir hard

work and paience.


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Endnotes

1 Sarah Jane Glynn, Breadwinning Mothers, Then andNow (Washington: Center for American Progress,2014), available at https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/labor/report/2014/06/20/92355/breadwinning-mothers-then-and-now.

2 Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will toLead (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013).

3 Katty Kay and Claire Shipman, The Confidence Code: TheScience and Art of S elf-Assurance---What Women ShouldKnow(New York: Harper Collins, 2014).

4 Knowledge@Wharton, To Close the Gender Gap, WhatNeeds to ChangeWomen or the System?, March 27,2013, available at http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/to-close-the-gender-gap-what-needs-to-change-women-or-the-system/.

5 Catalyst , U.S. Women in Business, available athttp://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/us-women-business(lastaccessed January 2014).

6 Susan Ehrlich Martin and Nancy C. Jurik, Women Enter-ing the Legal Profession: Change and Resistance. InDoing Justice, Doing Gender, 2nd ed. (Sage Publications,2007).

7 Feminist Majority Foundation, Empowering Womenin Medicine, available at http://www.feminist.org/re-search/medicine/ewm_toc.html(last accessed January2014).

8 David A. Matsa and Amalia R. Miller, A Female Style inCorporate Leadership? Evidence from Quotas,Ameri-can Economic Journal: Applied Economics 5 (3) (2013):136169.

9 Judith Warner, Womens Leadership: Whats True,Whats False, and Why It Matters (Washington:Center for American Progress, 2014), available athttp://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/report/2014/03/07/85467/womens-leadership/.

10 Rose M. Kreider and Diana B. Elliott, Americas Families

and Living Arrangements: 2007 (Washington: Bureauof the Census, 2009), available at http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p20-561.pdf. Also see DVeraCohn, Gretchen Livingston, and Wendy Wang, AfterDecades of Decline, A Rise in Stay-at-Home Mothers(Washington: Pew Research Center, 2014), availableathttp://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/04/08/after-decades-of-decline-a-rise-in-stay-at-home-mothers/.

11 Letter from International Council of Womens Leader-ship to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, August 13,2012, available at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/197140.pdf.

12 Dalia Ben-Galim and Amna Silim, Can Public PolicyBreak the Glass Ceiling? Lessons from Abroad (Wash-ington: Center for American Progress, 2014).

13 The Leadership Conference Civil Rights 101: Affirma-

tive Action, available athttp://www.civilrights.org/re-sources/civilrights101/affirmaction.html (last accessedSeptember 2014).

14 Katrin Elborgh-Woytek and others, Women, Work,and the Economy: Macroeconomic Gains from GenderEquity (Washington: International Monetary Fund,2013), available athttps://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2013/sdn1310.pdf. Also see McKinsey & Compa-ny, Women Matter: Making the Breakthrough (2012),available at http://www.mckinsey.com/client_service/organization/latest_thinking/women_matter.

15 World Bank, World Development Report: GenderEquality and Development (2011); World EconomicForum, Global Gender Gap Repor t 2014: Rankings,available at http://reports.weforum.org/global-gen-der-gap-report-2014/rankings/ (last accessed Novem-ber 2014).

16 Annie-Rose Strasser, Last Night, One MillionWorkers Were Guaranteed The R ight To Take TimeOff When Theyre Sick, ThinkProgress, November 5,2014, available at http://thinkprogress.org/econo-my/2014/11/05/3589146/sick-leave-election-2014.

17 Bryce Covert, Workers In A Third State Can NowTake Paid Family Leave, ThinkProgress, January 2,2014, available at http://thinkprogress.org/econo-my/2014/01/02/3110281/rhode-island-paid-family-leave-effect/.

18 Jennifer Ludden, If You Want Flextime But Are AfraidTo Ask, Consider Moving, NPR, April 29, 2014, availableathttp://www.npr.org/2014/04/29/307956811/if-you-want-flextime-but-are-afraid-to-ask-head-to-vermont.

19 Sylvia Ann Hewlett and others, Off-Ramps and On-Ramps Revisited (New York: Center for Work-Life Policy,2010).

20 Terence M. McMenamin, A time to work: recent trendsin shift work and flexible schedules, Monthly LaborReview, December 2007, available athttp://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2007/12/art1full.pdf.

21 Joan C. Williams, Mary Blair-Loy, and Jennifer L. Berdahl,Cultural Schemas, Social Class, and the FlexibilityStigma,Journal of Social Ideas69 (2) (2013): 209234.

22 Heather Boushey, Testimony before the U.S. SenateBudget Committee, Enabling Women to SucceedBuilds Strong Families and a Growing Economy, May13, 2014, available at http://www.budget.senate.gov/democratic/public/_cache/files/0ac0a6c4-9644-4d64-86ae-377ca87f36e2/senate-budget-hear-ing-boushey-testimony-final.pdf; Heather Boushey,Family Policy: The Foundation of a Middle-Out Agen-da, Democracy: A Journal of Ideas29 (2013), availableathttp://www.democracyjournal.org/29/family-poli-cy-the-foundation-of-a-middle-out-agenda.php.

23 Sarah Jane Glynn, What the FAMILY Act Means for LowIncome Workers (Washington: Center for AmericanProgress, 2013), available at http://cdn.americanprog-ress.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/FamilyActFact-sheet-lowincome.pdf.

24 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Highlights of WomensEarnings in 2012 (2013), available at http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswom2012.pdf.

25 Sarah Jane Glynn, Explaining the Gender Wage Gap(Washington: Center for American Progress, 2014),available at http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/report/2014/05/19/90039/explaining-the-gender-wage-gap/.
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26 Kreider and Elliott, Americas Families and LivingArrangements: 2 007.

27 Williams, Blair-Loy and Berdahl, Cultural Schemas,Social Class, and the Flexibility Stigma.

28 Susan J. Lambert, The Limits of Voluntary EmployerAction for Improving Low-Level Jobs. In Marion G.Crain and Michael Sherraden, eds., Working and Livingin the Shadow of Economic Fragility(New York: OxfordUniversity Press, 2014).

29 Ibid.

30 Susan J. Lambert, Presentation, Redesigning & Redefin-ing Work Summit, Michelle R. Clayman Institute forGender Research, November 7, 2013.

31 See, for example, Florence Jaumotte, Female LabourForce Participation: Past Trends and Main Determinantsin OECD Countries (Paris: Organisation for EconomicCo-operation and Development, 2003), available athttp://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdis-playdocumentpdf/?doclanguage=en&cote=eco/wkp%282003%2930.

32 Sarah Jane Glynn, Jane Farrell, and Nancy Wu, TheImportance of Preschool and Child Care for WorkingMothers (Washington: Center for American Progress,2013), available athttp://americanprogress.org/issues/education/report/2013/05/08/62519/the-importance-

of-preschool-and-child-care-for-working-mothers/.

33 Linda Houser and Thomas Vartanian, Pay Matters:The Positive Economic Impacts of Paid Family Leavefor Families, Businesses and the Public (Newark, NJ:Rutgers Center for Women and Work, 2012).


35 Claudia Goldin, A Grand Gender Convergence: Its LastChapter, American Economic Review104 (4) (2014):10911119, available at http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/goldin/files/goldin_aeapress_2014_1.pdf.


37 Shelley J. Correll, Minimizing the Motherhood Penalty:

What Works, What Doesnt and Why, from Genderand Work: Challenging Conventional Wisdom ResearchSymposium(Cambridge: Harvard Business School,2013), available athttp://www.hbs.edu/faculty/conferences/2013-w50-research-symposium/Docu-ments/correll.pdf.

38 Dalia Ben-Galim, No More Baby Steps: A Strategy forRevolutionising Childcare (London: Institute for PublicPolicy Research, 2014), availablehttp://www.ippr.org/publications/no-more-baby-steps-a-strategy-for-revolutionising-childcare.

39 Elisabeth Badinter, The Conflict: How Modern Mother-hood Undermines the Status of Women(New York: HenryHolt and Company, 2011).

40 Joseph A. Vandello and others, When Equal Isnt ReallyEqual: The Masculine Dilemma of Seeking Work Flex-

ibility,Journal of Social Issues69 (2) (2013): 303321.

41 Catherine R. Albiston and others, Law, Norms, andthe Motherhood/Caretaker Penalty. Working Paper(forthcoming).

42 Kristin M. Malone, Using Financial Incentives toAchieve the Normative Goals of the FMLA, Texas LawReview(90) (2012).

43 Albiston and others, Law, Norms, and the Mother-hood/Caretaker Penalty.

44 Laura G. Barron and Michelle Hebl, The Force of Law:The Effects of Sexual Orientation AntidiscriminationLegislation on Interpersonal Discrimination in Employ-ment, Psychology, Public Policy, and Law19 (2) (2013):191205.

45 Margaret Ryznar, To Work, or Not to Work? The Immor-tal Tax Disincentives for Married Women, Lewis & ClarkLaw Review 13 (4) (2009): 921947.

46 Boushey, Testimony before the U.S. Senate BudgetCommittee, Enabling Women to Succeed Builds StrongFamilies and a Growing Economy.

47 Sen. Patty Murray, Senator Patty Murray IntroducesThe 21st Century Worker Tax Cut Act, Press release,March 26, 2014, available athttp://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsreleases?ID=469512e4-8bbe-407f-9de4-b8e7369ca753.

48 Tax Policy Center, T14-0029 - 21st Century Worker TaxCut Act: Deduction for Dual-Earner Families; Baseline:Current Law; Distribution of Federal Tax Change byExpanded Cash Income Percentile, 2015, available athttp://www.taxpolicycenter.org/numbers/displayatab.cfm?Docid=4082&DocTypeID=2(last accessed Septem-ber 2014).

49 Helen Blank, Remarks at Child Care Issues and thePresidential Election, New America Foundation Panel,September 27, 2012.

50 Sen. Barbara Boxer, Senators Introduce Legislationto Expand Tax Credit, Help Families Afford Child Care,Press release, July 8, 2014, available athttps://www.boxer.senate.gov/en/press/releases/070814a.cfm.

51 Strong Start for Americas Children Act, S. 1697, 113 Cong.1 Sess. (Congress.gov, 2013), available at https://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/1697/text.

52 Emily Baxter with Katie Hamm, Real Family Values:Child Care and Early Childhood Education (Washing-ton: Center for American Progress, 2014), availableat http://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/up-loads/2014/04/RFV-childcare-briefv2.pdf.

53 For more detail, please see Katie Hamm, The Impor-tance of Early Childhood Programs for Women on theBrink (Washington: Center for American Progress,2014), available athttp://www.americanprogress.org/issues/early-childhood/report/2014/04/02/86970/the-importance-of-early-childhood-programs-for-women-on-the-brink/.

54 Jane Farrell and Sarah Jane Glynn, The FAMILY Act:Facts and Frequently Asked Questions (Washing-ton: Center for American Progress, 2013), availableat http://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/up-loads/2013/12/FamilyActFactsheet-FAQs1.pdf.

55 For an encyclopedic overview of possible strategiesfor administering and funding paid family leave, seeGeorgetown University Law Center, Berkeley Center onHealth, Economic and Family Security, and UC Berkeley

School of Law, Family Security Insurance: A NewFoundation for Economic Security (2010), available athttp://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/cgi/viewcon-tent.cgi?article=1002&context=pub_rep.

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57 Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, TheEmployment Relations (Flexible Working Arrange-ments) Amendment Act 2007, available at htp://www.dol.govt.nz/er/bestpractice/worklife/flexiblework/act.asp(last accessed August 2014).

58 Australian Government Fair Work Obmbudsman,Requests for flexible working arrangements, availableat http://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/policies-and-guides/fact-sheets/minimum-workplace-entitlements/requests-for-flexible-working-arrangements (lastaccessed August 2014).

59 Deborah Smeaton, Kath Ray, and Genevieve Knight,Costs and Benefits to Business of Adopting WorkLife Balance Working Practices: A Literature Review(London: Department for Business Innovation andSkills, 2014), available at https://www.gov.uk/govern-ment/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/323290/bis-14-903-costs-and-benefits-to-business-of-adopting-work-life-balance-working-practices-a-literature-review.pdf.

60 San Francisco Family Friendly Workplace Ordinance,Ordinance 209-13, San Francisco Board of Supervisors(November 8, 2013).

61 An Act Relating to Equal Pay, H. Rept. 291303, 9 9 Ver-mont Cong, 2014.

62 The Schedules that Work Act, H. Rept. 5159, 113th Cong.

63 Stephanie Bornstein, The Legal and Policy Implicationsof the Flexibility Stigma,Journal of Social Issues 69 (2)(2013).

64 U.S. Department of Labor, Union Members Summary,Press release, January 24, 2014, available athttp://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nr0.htm.

65 San Francisco Family Friendly Workplace Ordinance.

66 Center for Law and Social Policy, Retail Action Project,and Women Employed, Tackling Unstable and Unpre-dictable Work Schedules (2014), available athttp://www.clasp.org/resources-and-publications/publica-tion-1/Tackling-Unstable-and-Unpredictable-Work-Schedules-3-7-2014-FINAL-1.pdf.

67 The Schedules that Work Act.

68 Lambert, The Limits of Voluntary Employer Action forImproving Low-Level Jobs.

69 Boushey, OLeary, and Glynn, Our Working Nation in2013.

70 Williams, Blair-Loy, and Berdahl, Cultural Schemas,Social Class, and the Flexibility Stigma.

71 Bornstein, The Legal and Policy Implications of theFlexibility Stigma, pp. 389405.

72 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Enforce-ment Guidance: Unlawful Disparate Treatment ofWorkers with Caregiving Responsibilities, available athttp://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/caregiving.html(lastaccessed September 2014).

73 The Center for WorkLife Law, Family ResponsibilitiesDiscrimination (FRD), available at http://worklifelaw.org/frd/faqs/(last accessed July 2014).

74 The Center for WorkLife Law, WorkLife Laws State FRDLegislation Tracker (2014), available at http://worklife-law.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/FRD-Tracker-June-2014.pdf.

75 In January 2013, the employment discriminationattorneys Ellen Eardley and Cyrus Mehri made an ambi-tious proposal for this in an issue brief for the AmericanConstitution Society. Noting that, under the SecuritiesExchange Act, the SEC already requires publicly tradedcompanies to disclose information for the benefit ofinvestors such as competitive conditions in their mar-kets, their expenditures on environmental protectioncompliance, and the number of company employees,they argued that the Obama administration should ad-ditionally require the public filing of a Diversity ReportCard. The Report Card would include disclosure of

Key Glass Ceiling indicators such as the race, ethnicity,and gender of the 200 highest-paid employees ina firm; a range of pay equity data; data on the race,ethnicity, and gender of job applicants and new hires,including internal promotions; and disclosure of therace, ethnicity, and gender of candidates interviewed inperson for board positions. This report card would beof material value to investors, they argued, becauseof the proven value of diversity in organizations. And,they argued, it would be an effective way to targetinsidious or second generation discriminationthe ways in which structural systems support subtlediscriminationas well as a way to encourage andshare best practices. Ellen Eardley and Cyrus Mehri, De-fending Twentieth Century Equal Employment Reformsin the Twenty-First Century (Washington: AmericanConstitution Society for Law and Policy, 2013), availableat http://www.acslaw.org/sites/default/files/Eardley_and_Mehri_-_Defending_Equal_Employment_Reforms.

pdf.

76 Australian Department of Employment, Backgroundinformation on the workplace gender reporting publicconsultation, available at http://employment.gov.au/background-information-workplace-gender-reporting-public-consultation(last accessed October 2014).

77 Australian Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Trans-parent gender data a valuable asset for investors, Pressrelease, July 15, 2013, available athttps://www.wgea.gov.au/news-and-media/transparent-gender-data-valuable-asset-investors.

78 Ibid.

79 Australian Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Govern-ment agency to recognize best employers for genderequality, Press release, November 27, 2013, available

at https://www.wgea.gov.au/news-and-media/gov-ernment-agency-recognise-best-employers-gender-equality.

80 Douglas M. Branson, An Australian Perspective on aGlobal Phenomenon: Initiatives to Place Women onCorporate Boards of Directors. Working Paper No.2012-13 (University of Pittsburgh, 2012), available athttp://ssrn.com/abstract=2064087.

81 Australian Institute of Company Directors, Appoint-ments to S&P/ASX 200 Boards, available at http://www.companydirectors.com.au/Director-Resource-Centre/Governance-and-Director-Issues/Board-Diversity/Sta-tistics(last accessed September 2014).

82 Branson, An Australian Perspective on a Global Phe-nomenon.

83 Paul Hastings LLP, Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Womenin the Boardroom (2013), available at http://www.paulhastings.com/genderparity/.

84 Warner, Womens Leadership.
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