The Attachment Gap: Employment Discrimination Law, Women's Cultural Caregiving, and the Limits of Economic and Liberal Legal Theory

Kessler, Laura T.

doi:10.2139/ssrn.285192

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Gender bias. Although women make up nearly half the U.S. labor force (American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Unions [AFL-CIO], 2007), they continue to be the primary caregivers of their children (Kessler, 2001) and elderly family members (Martin, 2000;Smith, 2004). Thus, they are particularly likely to face problems because of work-family conflict.…”

Section: Perspectives On Bias In Decision Makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Political Ideology and Labor Arbitrators' Decision Making in Work–Family Conflict Cases

Biernat

Malin

2008

Pers Soc Psychol Bull

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Labor arbitrators were asked to render decisions about grievances brought by employees who had been fired because of problems created by work conflicts with family responsibilities. The study examined the effects of experimentally manipulated grievant attributes (gender, type of work-family conflict) as well as arbitrator attributes (gender, political ideology) on decision making. When employees were depicted as having had child care problems, liberal arbitrators tended to favor female over male grievants, and political conservatism predicted more favorable judgments rendered toward male grievants. Overall, the data suggest that child care responsibilities cue different patterns of gender bias among liberal and conservative decision makers.

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Section: Perspectives On Bias In Decision Makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Political Ideology and Labor Arbitrators' Decision Making in Work–Family Conflict Cases

Biernat

Malin

2008

Pers Soc Psychol Bull

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“…Scholars have expressed concern about antidiscrimination approaches such as this because, they argue, these proposals primarily help women who can meet standard work requirements but whose employers assume they are less able or committed simply because they are mothers (Becker 2001, Chamallas 1999, Dowd 1989b, Kessler 2001. These critics worry that antidiscrimination theories only protect workers who are able to meet standard work requirements against blanket assumptions that workers with family responsibilities are inferior.…”

Section: Institutions and Legal Reformsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Logically, this implies that current antidiscrimination provisions may be sufficient to support family responsibilities accommodations. Other scholars argue explicitly for family responsibilities accommodations that are patterned after existing legally required accommodations for workers' religious beliefs and disabilities (Kessler 2001, Smith 2001. Such accommodations might include (longer) parental leaves and paid family leave.…”

Section: Institutions and Legal Reformsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Institutional Perspectives on Law, Work, and Family

Albiston

2007

Annu. Rev. Law. Soc. Sci.

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Work and family scholarship increasingly focuses on how institutions constrain the choices of families struggling to balance market work with care work. Recent legal reforms, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, also focus on institutional reform to alleviate work/family conflict. This article reviews important empirical questions raised by this institutional turn in both law and social science. How have changes in the institutions of family and work contributed to work/family conflict? Have legal reforms produced more egalitarian sharing of care work between men and women? How do work organizations respond to these legal mandates? How have organizational and cultural institutions hindered or given support to laws that attempt to reform the relationship between work and family? Empirical research indicates that legal reforms have brought about important changes but that entrenched work practices and cultural norms around work, family, and gender continue to generate institutional resistance to social change.

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“…The economic value of unpaid work within households, encompassing caregiving, household chores, and emotional labor, has long been obscured by its absence from traditional economic frameworks (Morini & Fumagalli, 2010) (Kessler, 2000) (Ding & Williams, 2022). However, methodologies have been developed to unveil the hidden contributions of these essential activities, shedding light on their significance for individual well-being, gender equality, and overall societal development.…”

Section: Methodologies Used To Estimate the Economic Value Of Unpaid ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Women in the Economic Contribution to the Household Economy: Employment Analysis Paid and Unpaid

Minot,

Russell,

Creswell

et al. 2022

Sosateris

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This research offers a comprehensive examination of women's economic contributions to the household economy, encompassing both paid employment and unpaid labor. Through a multifaceted analysis, the study delves into the intricate landscape of women's roles, challenges, and the transformative potential of initiatives aimed at fostering gender equality. The findings reveal the expanding participation of women in various sectors of paid employment, highlighting its positive impact on economic empowerment, household income, and overall economic growth. Equally significant is the unveiling of women's unpaid labor—caregiving, emotional support, and household chores—often rendered invisible within traditional economic frameworks. The research underscores the urgency of recognizing and valuing these contributions to rectify historical oversight and more accurately depict women's impact on households and economies. However, persistent gender inequities, unequal distribution of household responsibilities, and resistance to change present challenges that require targeted policy interventions and cultural shifts. Through collective action, encompassing policy changes, cultural transformations, and inclusive attitudes, societies can leverage the diverse economic roles of women to pave the way for a more equitable and prosperous future

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The Attachment Gap: Employment Discrimination Law, Women's Cultural Caregiving, and the Limits of Economic and Liberal Legal Theory

Cited by 6 publications

References 20 publications

Political Ideology and Labor Arbitrators' Decision Making in Work–Family Conflict Cases

Political Ideology and Labor Arbitrators' Decision Making in Work–Family Conflict Cases

Institutional Perspectives on Law, Work, and Family

The Role of Women in the Economic Contribution to the Household Economy: Employment Analysis Paid and Unpaid

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