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On-Site or Out-of-Sight?

Family-Friendly Child Care Provisions and the Status of Working Mothers

University of Illinois at Chicago, jhoobler{at}uic.edu

"Family-friendly" initiatives are gaining in popularity as employers attempt to ease the fit between work and family. A number of organizations offer on- or near-site child care facilities to employees with young children. The author uses social identity theory to make the argument that family-friendly policies blurring the lines between work roles and family/caregiver roles serve to reinforce gender biases that degrade women's status on the job. Because women are the primary users of on-site child care services, and family roles are devalued in managerial employment, such "family-friendly" programs force women to sacrifice the quest for workplace equality, opting instead for short-term solutions.

Key Words: gender • work—family • identity

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Journal of Management Inquiry, Vol. 16, No. 4, 372-380 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1056492607305909


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