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The Public Policy of Motherhood
Author(s) -
Williams Joan C.,
Cooper Holly Cohen
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.0022-4537.2004.00390.x
Subject(s) - statute , interim , work (physics) , government (linguistics) , subsidy , family leave , family friendly , balance (ability) , public relations , ideal (ethics) , public administration , political science , business , sociology , law , psychology , engineering , mechanical engineering , linguistics , philosophy , neuroscience
Parents seeking to balance their work lives with family responsibilities often find the challenge made more difficult by outdated images of the ideal worker, the good mother, and the good father. Social and legal constraints on mothers' choices exacerbate the problem. While other countries have implemented national work/family policies, the climate in the United States seems unreceptive to federal government mandates for meaningful changes in employees' work hours, schedules, and paid leave, or for sweeping new child care subsidies. As a viable interim measure, we propose a statute forbidding discrimination based on family responsibilities, which would tap deeply‐felt values about the importance of family caregiving, serve as an important symbolic statement, and be useful to courts.