Studies: U.S., Canada Come Up Short in Work-Family Laws, Practices (7/11/08)

A new study by the Institute for Women's Policy Research concludes that U.S. businesses will be hurt unless they adjust and become more family-friendly, and that the country lacks laws which would force business to make these changes.

According to the study, U.S. economic growth has been partially pushed by the surge of women entering the workforce since World War II, yet U.S. businesses have failed to adapt. U.S. workplaces lag behind other developed nations in providing increased child care and flexible work schedules. This can result in women leaving the workplace when family obligations take priority, or being forced into jobs that provide more flexibility but don't take advantage of their education or abilities.

The study reports that 17 of the 20 countries examined had paid child-care laws with government funding, six of the nations had paid time off for care of an elderly adult and 12 of the nations gave workers paid time off for retraining into higher skills. The U.S. has none of these laws on the books.

A different study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has concluded that Canada is also failing to adequately invest in the stability of women in the workforce. The OECD recommends countries invest 1 percent of GDP on child care. Canada falls well below that range because Canada’s investment only reaches 0.3 percent of GDP. Of fourteen OECD countries surveyed, public expenditures on early childhood services is lowest in Canada.

Lack of affordable, community-based child care means that many working poor parents, especially women who are single parents, cannot work full-time, or cannot join the work force at all. Likewise, the instability created by a lack of a quality child care system in place can stunt the growth of career for working women