Organizational Work–Life Policies and the Gender Wage Gap in European Workplaces

Lippe, A.G. van der; Breeschoten, L. van; Hek, Margriet van

doi:10.1177/0730888418791652

Cited by 37 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…The findings that flexitime and teleworking may not neccessarily lead to a large negative career outcome is a welcome one. Actually, these arrangements have been shown to reduce women's likelihood of working part-time after childbirth (Chung and Van der Horst 2018b), reduce the motherhood penalty (Fuller and Hirsh 2018;Van der Lippe et al 2018), and potentially increase wage premiums for women especially in the longer run (Langner 2018). Then why despite the stigma and negative career outcomes do women continue to work part-time after becoming mothers?…”

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1 In fact, there is evidence that flexible working, in particular those that provide workers with more control over their work such as flexitime and teleworking, can help reduce the gender wage gap. This is because these arrangements help women maintain their labour market position and stay in high paying jobs after childbirth (Chung and Van der Horst 2018b;Fuller and Hirsh 2018;Piasna and Plagnol 2017;Van der Lippe et al 2018). To enable better labour market integrations of mothers, the UK government has introduced the right to request flexible working in 2003 for parents of young children.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gender, Flexibility Stigma and the Perceived Negative Consequences of Flexible Working in the UK

2018

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This study examines the prevalence and the gender differences in the perceptions and experiences of flexibility stigma-i.e., the belief that workers who use flexible working arrangements for care purposes are less productive and less committed to the workplace. This is done by using the 4th wave of the Work-Life Balance Survey conducted in 2011 in the UK. The results show that 35% of all workers agree to the statement that those who work flexibly generate more work for others, and 32% believe that those who work flexibly have lower chances for promotion. Although at first glance, men are more likely to agree to both, once other factors are controlled for, women especially mothers are more likely to agree to the latter statement. Similarly, men are more likely to say they experienced negative outcomes due to co-workers working flexibly, while again mothers are more likely to say they experienced negative career consequences due to their own flexible working. The use of working time reducing arrangements, such as part-time, is a major reason why people experience negative career outcomes, and can partially explain why mothers are more likely to suffer from such outcomes when working flexibly. However, this relationship could be reverse, namely, the stigma towards part-time workers may be due to negative perceptions society hold towards mothers' commitment to work and their productivity. In sum, this paper shows that flexibility stigma is gendered, in that men are more likely to discriminate against flexible workers, while women, especially mothers, are more likely to suffer from such discrimination.

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Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender, Flexibility Stigma and the Perceived Negative Consequences of Flexible Working in the UK

2018

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“…The relationship between flexible working and work–family conflict have different outcomes for men and women, as women are often still more responsible for housework and childcare and spend more time on these chores (Van der Lippe et al 2018 ; and also see the next section). The effect of work role ambiguity on work–family conflict is also different for men and women (Michel et al 2011 ).…”

Section: Summary Of Existing Literature and Their Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, this is not always the case. Several studies have shown that flexible working may allow women to work longer hours than they would have otherwise after childbirth (Chung and Van der Horst 2018b ) and stay in relatively stressful yet high paying occupations (Fuller and Hirsh 2018 ) and workplaces with flexible working arrangements are those where the gender wage gap is smaller (Van der Lippe et al 2018 ). Thus the picture is rather complex in terms of what flexible working can mean for gender equality.…”

Section: Summary Of Existing Literature and Their Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flexible Working, Work–Life Balance, and Gender Equality: Introduction

2018

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This special brings together innovative and multidisciplinary research (sociology, economics, and social work) using data from across Europe and the US to examine the potential flexible working has on the gender division of labour and workers' work-life balance. Despite numerous studies on the gendered outcomes of flexible working, it is limited in that the majority is based on qualitative studies based in the US. The papers of this special issue overcome some of the limitations by examining the importance of context, namely, family, organisational and country context, examining the intersection between gender and class, and finally examining the outcomes for different types of flexible working arrangements. The introduction to this special issue provides a review of the existing literature on the gendered outcomes of flexible working on work life balance and other work and family outcomes, before presenting the key findings of the articles of this special issue. The results of the studies show that gender matters in understanding the outcomes of flexible working, but also it matters differently in different contexts. The introduction further provides policy implications drawn from the conclusions of the studies and some thoughts for future studies to consider.

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“…Similar results have been found by several scholars. Flexible working—again workers’ control over their work—has been shown to help women stay in relatively stressful yet high paying occupations (Fuller & Hirsh, 2018 ), and workplaces with flexible working arrangements are those where the gender wage gap is smaller (Van der Lippe, Van Breeschoten, & Van Hek, 2018 ). In this sense, we need more evidence to see how these rather conflicting directions of impact of flexible working on the gender pay gap act in the longer term for workers.…”

Section: Outcomes Of Family-friendly Arrangements/flexible Workingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Company-Level Family Policies: Who Has Access to It and What Are Some of Its Outcomes?

Chung

2020

The Palgrave Handbook of Family Policy

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Despite the increase in the number of studies that examine the cross-national variation in the policy configuration that allow a better work–family integration, very few look beyond the national levels. It is also crucial to examine occupational level welfare since companies may restrict or expand the existing national-level regulations, defining the “final availability” workers actually have toward various arrangements. In addition, companies may provide various additional arrangements through occupational policies which are not set out in the national-level agreements that are crucial in addressing reconciliation needs of workers. This chapter examines what types of arrangements are provided at the company level to address work–family demands of workers. It further provides a synthesis of studies that examine both national-level contexts and individual-level characteristics that explain who gets access to company-level family-friendly policies, which is linked to the possible outcomes of these policies.

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Organizational Work–Life Policies and the Gender Wage Gap in European Workplaces

Cited by 37 publications

References 72 publications

Gender, Flexibility Stigma and the Perceived Negative Consequences of Flexible Working in the UK

Gender, Flexibility Stigma and the Perceived Negative Consequences of Flexible Working in the UK

Flexible Working, Work–Life Balance, and Gender Equality: Introduction

Company-Level Family Policies: Who Has Access to It and What Are Some of Its Outcomes?

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