Unfinished Business (34 page)
Read Unfinished Business Online
Authors: Anne-Marie Slaughter
In the area of policy, AARP advocates on behalf of persons over the age of fifty. The organization provides research and information to policy leaders regarding the needs, market conditions, and trends that impact this population. See “Age Discrimination Fact Sheet,” AARP, April 2014,
aarp.org/âwork/âemployee-rights/âinfo-02-2009/âage_discrimination_fact_sheet.html
.
Reform of elementary and secondary school
See Alice Park, “School Should Start Later So Teens Can Sleep, Urge Doctors,”
Time
, August 14, 2014,
time.com/3162265/âschool-should-start-later-so-teens-âcan-sleep-urge-doctors
; National Association for Year Round Learning, nayre.org; “Learning Time in America: Trends to Reform the American School Calendar: A Snapshot of Federal, State, and Local Action,” Education Commission of the States, 2011,
ecs.org/âdocs/âLearningTimeinAmerica.pdf
; Charles Ballinger and Carolyn Kneese,
School Calendar Reform: Learning in All Seasons
(Lanham, MD: R&L Education, 2006).
But for those of you who want
For an accessible, powerfully argued overview of all these proposals and more, see Madeleine Kunin, the first woman governor of Vermont,
The New Feminist Agenda: Defining the Next Revolution for Women, Work, and Family
(White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2012).
In a live segment on her Fox show
KJ Dell'Antonia, “Fox News Anchor Pushes Paid Family Leave,”
New York Times
, December 12, 2011,
parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/12/âfox-news-anchor-pushesâ-paid-family-leave
.
Childcare workers
Jonathan Cohn, “The Hell of American Day Care,”
New Republic
, April 15, 2013,
newrepublic.com/âarticle/112892/âhell-american-day-care
; “Parents and the High Cost of Child Care: 2014 Report,” Child Care Aware of America, 2014.
Republican senators
Brigid Schulte, “ââMad Men' Era of U.S. Family Policy Coming to an End?,”
Washington Post
, February 12, 2014,
washingtonpost.com/âblogs/âshe-the-people/âwp/2014/02/12/âmad-men-era-of-us-family-âpolicy-coming-to-an-end
.
a majority of Republican women
“American Women Applauds President Obama's Action on Paid Family Leave and Paid Sick Days,” American Women, January 15, 2015,
americanwomen.org/news/âamerican-âwomen-applauds-president-obamas-action-âon-paid-family-leave-and-paid-sick-days
.
Republican senator Kelly Ayotte
Jamie Bulen, “Family Caregiving Caucus Co-Chaired by U.S. Senator Ayotte,” AARP, March 3, 2015,
states.aarp.org/âfamily-caregiving-caucus-co-âchaired-by-us-senator-ayotte
.
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
Jana Kasperkevic, “Kay Bailey Hutchison: Not a Feminist, but an Advocate for Women,”
Guardian
, August 12, 2014,
theguardian.com/âmoney/âus-money-blog/2014/âaug/12/âkay-bailey-hutchison-not-âfeminist-senator-business
.
it's the women in Congress
“The Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act (The FAMILY Act) Fact Sheet,” National Partnership for Women and Families, 2014,
nationalpartnership.org/âresearch-library/âwork-family/âpaid-leave/âfamily-act-fact-sheet.pdf
; “H.R. 3712âFamily and Medical Insurance Leave Act of 2013,”
congress.gov/âbill/113th-congress/âhouse-bill/3712
; “State
Paid Family Leave Insurance Laws,” National Partnership for Women & Families, October 2013,
nationalpartnership.org/âresearch-library/âwork-family/âpaid-leave/âstate-paid-family-leave-laws.pdf
; Betsy Firestein, Ann O'Leary, and Zoe Savitsky, “A Guide to Implementing Paid Family Leave: Lessons from California,” Labor Project for Working Families, 2011,
paidfamilyleave.org/âpdf/âpfl_guide.pdf
.
In all thirteen countries
John Gerzema and Michael D'Antonio,
The Athena Doctrine: How Women (and Men Who Think Like Them) Will Rule the Future
(San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2013), eBook, loc. 204 of 5309.
two-thirds of respondents
Ibid., loc. 181 of 5309.
women in politics
Christopher F. Karpowitz and Tali Mendelberg,
The Silent Sex: Gender, Deliberation, and Institutions
(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2014), p. 19.
“Women's percentage in deliberating bodies matters little”
Ibid., p. 16.
all-women groups
Ibid., p. 259.
“groups chose a more generous safety net”
Ibid., p. 260.
women speak less
Ibid., pp. 137â38.
Most striking, however
Ibid., p. 188.
“more than naming a problem”
Ibid., p. 198.
“when women have greater standing”
Ibid., p. 318.
one in six Americans
Ai-jen Poo,
The Age of Dignity
, pp. 2â4, 24.
one in three Americans
Nancy Folbre, ed.,
For Love and Money: Care Provision in the United States
(New York: Russell Sage, 2012), p. 187.
the demand for home careworkers is skyrocketing
Ai-jen Poo,
Age of Dignity
, p. 4.
“care policy and research”
Nancy Folbre, Candace Howes, and Carrie Leana, “A Care Policy and Research Agenda,” in Nancy Folbre, ed.,
For Love and Money: Care Provision in the United States
(New York: Russell Sage, 2012), pp. 183â204.
It offsets the cost of high-quality childcare
“Military Child Care: DOD Is Taking Actions to Address Awareness and Availability
Barriers,” Government Accountability Office, February 2012,
gao.gov/âassets/590/â588188.pdf
.
the Pentagon pays teachers
Marcy Whitebook, Deborah Phillips, and Carollee Howes,
Worthy Work, STILL Unlivable Wages: The Early Childhood Workforce 25 Years after the National Child Care Staffing Study
, Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, University of California, Berkeley, 2014,
irle.berkeley.edu/âcscce/âwp-content/âuploads/2014/11/âReportFINAL.pdf
.
Sheila Lirio Marcelo
“Sheila Lirio Marcelo: Founder, Chairwoman & CEO,”
Care.com
,
care.com/âsheila-marcelo
.
The company raised $91 million
Michael B. Farrell, “
Care.com
's IPO Raises About $91m,”
Boston Globe
, January 24, 2014,
bostonglobe.com/âbusiness/2014/01/24/âcare-com-raises-million-ipo/âN5navjOBBhUWRM1y0p0IBL/âstory.html
.
it was valued at $1.4 billion
Chris Deiterich, “Bright Horizons Blazes in Its Debut,”
Wall Street Journal
, January 25, 2013,
online.wsj.com/ânews/âarticles/âSB1000142â4127887323539804â578263932897208500
.
townhouses geared toward multigenerational families
Aaron Glantz, “Multigenerational Housing Is a Real Estate Growth Niche,”
New York Times
, April 21, 2011,
nytimes.com/2011/04/22/âus/â22cncmultigenerational.html
.
“social consciousness of the 1960's”
Patricia Leigh Brown, “Growing Old Together, in New Kind of Commune,”
New York Times
, February 27, 2006,
nytimes.com/2006/02/27/ânational/27commune.html
.
the Caring Across Generations movement
“What Is Caring Across Generations?,” Caring Across Generations,
caringacross.org/âabout-us
.
the Family Caregiver Alliance
“About FCA,” Family Caregiver Alliance,
caregiver.org/âabout-fca
.
The Caring Economy Campaign
“About,” Caring Economy Campaign,
caringeconomy.org
.
“a City upon a hill”
John Winthrop, “A Model of Christian Charity (1630),” Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History,
gilderlehrman.org/âsites/âdefault/âfiles/âinline-pdfs/âA%20Model%20of%20Christian%20Charity.pdf
.
Britain, for example
“Maternity Pay and Leave,”
Gov.uk
,
gov.uk/âmaternity-pay-leave/âpay
.
other industrialized countries
Gretchen Livingston, “Among 38 Nations, U.S. Is the Outlier When It Comes to Paid Parental Leave,” Pew Research Center, December 12, 2013,
pewresearch.org/âfact-tank/2013/12/12/âamong-38-nations-u-s-is-the-holdout-when-it-comes-to-offering-paid-parental-leave
; Sarah Thompson, Robin Osborn, David Squires, and Miraya Jun, eds., “International Profiles of Health Care Systems, 2012,” Commonwealth Fund, November 2012,
commonwealthfund.âorg/~/âmedia/âFiles/âPublications/âFund%â20Report/â2012/âNov/â1645_Squires_âintl_profiles_âhlt_care_âsystems_2012.âpdf
.
As previously noted, the United States is one of the few wealthy countries that does not have universal healthcare or paid maternity leave. However, there are several countries that provide paternity leave as well, some of it fairly ample. Norway, Ireland, Iceland, Slovenia, Sweden, and Germany all give new fathers eight weeks or more of paid parental leave.
When it comes to care for the elderly and chronically ill, Denmark treats its citizens wonderfully. According to the Commonwealth Fund, institutionalized care has been deemphasized over the years because of “conscious policy efforts” to allow people to stay in their own homes, which the vast number of chronically ill people prefer (this is also true of the elderly in the United States). In Denmark, “Home nursing (
hjemmesygepleje
) is fully funded after medical referral. Permanent home care (
hjemmehjælp
) is free of charge, while temporary home care can qualify for cost-sharing if income is above DKK138,600 (US$23,776) for singles and DKK208,200 (US$35,715) for couples.”
“We have decided that raising a child”
T. R. Reid, “Norway Pays Price for Family Values,”
Washington Post
, November 1, 1998, cited in Ann Crittenden,
The Price of Motherhood: Why the Most Important Job in the World Is Still the Least Valued
(New York: Henry Holt, 2002), p. 192.
an immigrant to Denmark
“A Family Affair: Intergenerational Social Mobility across OECD Countries,” OECD Economic Policy Reforms, Going for Growth, 2010,
oecd.org/âtax/âpublic-finance/âchapter%205%20gfg%202010.pdf
.
Canada, for instance
Raj Chetty, Nathaniel Hendren, Patrick Kline, Emmanuel Saez, and Nick Turner, “Is the United States Still a Land of Opportunity? Recent Trends in Intergenerational Mobility,”
American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings
104, no. 5 (2014): 141â47; Miles Corak, “Social Mobility and Social Institutions in Comparison: Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States,” Sutton Trust/Carnegie Foundation Seminar on Social Mobility, London, May 21â22, 2012,
milescorak.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/âsocial_mobility_summit_v3.pdf
; Rana Foroohar, “What Ever Happened to Upward Mobility?,”
Time
, November 14, 2011,
content.time.com/âtime/âmagazine/âarticle/0,9171,2098584,00.html
; Fareed Zakaria, “The Downward Path of Upward Mobility,”
Washington Post
, November 9, 2011,
washingtonpost.com/âopinions/âthe-downward-path-of-upward-mobility/2011/11/09/âgIQAegpS6M_story.html
; Fareed Zakaria, “Social Immobility Erodes the American Dream,”
Washington Post
, August 14, 2013,
washingtonpost.com/opinions/âfareed-zakaria-social-immobility-erodes-american-dream/2013/08/14/âc2fc6092-04fa-11e3-â88d6-d5795fab4637_story.html
.
maintain a stable and caring environment
Raj Chetty, Nathaniel Hendren, Patrick Kline, and Emmanuel Saez, “Where Is the Land of Opportunity? The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility in the United States,”
Quarterly Journal of Economics
129, no. 4 (2014): 1553â1623.
women in Europe
Claire Cain Miller, “Can Family Leave Policies Be Too Generous? It Seems So,”
New York Times
, August 10, 2014,
nytimes.com/2014/08/10/âupshot/âcan-family-leave-policies-be-âtoo-generous-it-seems-so.html
.
unintended consequences of long maternity leaves
Francine D. Blau and Lawrence M. Kahn, “Female Labor Supply: Why Is the US Falling Behind?,” Institute for the Study of Labor Discussion Paper No. 7140, January 2013,
ftp.iza.org/âdp7140.pdf
. Blau and Kahn show that while women's labor force participation
overall has fallen in the United States because of our lack of paid family leave, we are more likely to be managers and professionals because of this same phenomenon. They conclude: “On the one hand, such policies likely facilitate the labor force entry of less career-oriented women (or of women who are at a stage in the life cycle when they would prefer to reduce labor market commitments). On the other hand, entitlements too long, paid parental leaves and part-time work may encourage women who would have otherwise had a stronger labor force commitment to take part-time jobs or lower-level positions. Moreover, on the employer side, such policies may lead employers to engage in statistical discrimination against women for jobs leading to higher-level positions, if employers cannot tell which women are likely to avail themselves of these options and which are not.”