Chapter 6 Trends in women s employment and labor force participation and reasons 2 3 of young women over 30 with children are in the labor force Women now make up 47 of the labor force Women in labor force has increased twice as much as men and men s is African American women make up the highest part of the labor force followed slightly declining today by whites Women tend to have more part time work Rapid rise of percentage of married women with children in work force Normal for adult women to work out of the home Changes in the economy o Transition from a manufacturing to service economy more jobs for women o Since 1980 have taken 80 of the new jobs o Largest gains in employment in home care aids and home health aides computer specialists and medical assistants Decline in real earnings o Two incomes crucial for maintaining a household o Women s earnings have been what allowed families to achieve an adequate standard of living Personal fulfillment o Want to be rewarded for their work o Decide to work in difficult circumstances because it protects their earnings potential and promotes their long term economic security Trends in the employment and labor force participation of men and reasons Decreased from 83 to 72 in 2009 Declines steeper for African Americans Hispanic men more likely to be in labor force than white or black men Declines in white men were due to lower age of retirement Declines in minorities due to the discouraged worker effect searching for a job for a long period time and being unsuccessful Structural unemployment o Men s working industries were harder hit by the recession construction agriculture and manufacturing Men more likely to have had full time jobs so family harder hit by father s job loss because he provided the benefits Redistribution of jobs o Men turn to lower paying but rapidly expanding service sector o Fattest growing occupation for men is sales o Waiter security guard etc offer few benefits low wages and have limited career opportunity advancements Low income generating capacity of jobs Trends in teen employment Teen labor force has actually declined since the late 1970s Working fewer hours and doing freelance work Education has become very important which takes precedence over working Related to both social class and race o Those in higher income families are more likely to obtain jobs than low income families lack of transportation o Those in low income families have less opportunities in the areas they live in as well Work family interference o 38 of whites 22 of African Americans 23 of Hispanics The ways in which the connections between jobs and family life may be a source of tension for workers and family members Spillover positive and negative Transfer of moods feelings and behaviors between work and family members Work family spillover is more common than family work spillover and has more negative effects Work family role system Men s work stress affect family women s family stress affect work Joseph Pleck s term for the uneven relationship to work and family between men and women Men will bring work and women will choose family over work Employed women have two jobs household duties and the work force and If child is in trouble at school woman is called first Women are less likely to have job opportunities than men because they are employed men have one job viewed as only having one job An increased pressure in men and women to be involved with the family even if it means putting job advances to the side to devote more time to their family Women have constant pressure to be the best mother which means being there 24 7 for the child decreasing job opportunities Fathers have constant pressure to be the breadwinner making them devote time to work while also being a good father Work hours total demand vs 40 hour week for individuals Standard 40 hour week is not much but when it comes to a dual earner family with two jobs and two children the total demand on the family may be overwhelming Dual earner couples have increased along with their hours Research on parental time with their children 1975 2000 Parents have shifted the allocation of their non working hours in ways that maximize time with their children Spending more time reading or talking with children than 25 years ago Spend more of their leisure time with children Multitasking Hochchild s research Second shift and hours Women s disproportionate time in housework child care and home management work than did men Women spend more time on their second shift household work after actual o Additional hours added up to an extra month of work each year Men are contributing more to household work now than ever before Interaction work emotion work consumption work kin work Interaction work Emotion work everything fine work of trying to find the right feeling to make and keep work women do to sustain communication with their mates o Trying to promote a good father child relationship Kin work Consumption work selecting goods and making purchases links the needs of families with products in the market invisible market maintaining contact and connections among kin as well as providing care and assistance to family members in other households o Writing cards taking care of their elderly family members etc o Sometimes referred to as third shift Provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 FMLA Requires employers of 50 or more people to provide 12 weeks of unpaid leave to any worker who has a medical emergency or needs to care for a newborn child or seriously ill child Does not cover part time workers Nearly half of the workforce was ineligible for this law o In 2009 they allowed for up to 26 weeks of military leave if needed to take care of a hurt family member o 12 weeks of family leave may be allowed for those families of the national guard of reserves members o However these are unpaid leaves and those with less than 50 people are not required to allow a leave of absence o There is no maternal leave policy so those use FMLA to do so but hardly take time off Caused certain states to provide paid family leave programs California started it Other rules that are beyond the provisions of FMLA are done so independently of each employer Coping strategies of working families split shift parenting sequencing mommy track 209 when working parents share child care one parent takes Split shift parenting care of the children while the other works Sequencing adjusting the timing of events over the