Lack of Workplace Flexibility in U.S. affects Career Options for Women

A new report by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) and the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California Hastings College of the Law, charts what governments in high income countries are doing to speed up the pace of workplace change.

Although there has been progress in workplace practices, high-quality flexible work arrangements are still the exception in the U.S. When lack of flexibility and lack of affordable child care and elder care combine, many women stop paid work altogether, or trade down to a job with more feasible work hours, at the cost of having to work below their professional potential.

“In the U.S., the choice tends to be either to work full-time all the time, or work reduced hours, with low pay, no benefits, and little opportunity for advancement. Faced with that choice, and the high cost of child care and elder care, many women are forced to leave the labor market,” says
Barbara Gault, IWPR Vice President and Director of Research.

Of 21 countries reviewed, the report found that 17 countries have statutes that allow parents to move to part-time work or otherwise adjust their working hours; 12 have statutes to help workers adjust work hours for training and education; 11 allow reduced hours with partial pension prior to full retirement; 5 allow working time adjustments for those with family care-giving responsibilities for adults; and 5 countries give everyone the right to alternative work arrangements.
http://www.iwpr.org/pdf/B258release.pdf