November 7, 2006
The Workplace Flexibility 2010 News Roundup is a compilation of the latest news articles, reports and other materials related to workplace flexibility. The News Roundup appears twice-weekly. If you have questions about any of the items, please contact Jennifer Hedrick at jlh62@law.georgetown.edu.
Articles
Part-timers Find Room at Law Firm
"This isn't a story of dramatic victories, the kind you might get with a bang from a judge's gavel. It's a tale of slow, trickling change and the tools you need to hammer out real work-life progress, not empty jargon, in law firms.”
Workplace Flex Time Becoming Popular for Building Morale
“More than 50 Arizona companies are in the running to win the Alfred P. Sloan Award for Workplace Flexibility. The national award program is being promoted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., and is part of the When Work Works program honoring companies that support workplace flexibility such as telecommuting, flex schedules, job sharing and part-time/part-year schedules.”
The Pushmipullyu of Life-Work Conflict
"Of everything I have written, an article called “The Opt-Out Revolution,” which ran three years ago in The New York Times Magazine, has had the most interesting journey. Not a week goes by that I am not asked about that article, which explored why highly educated, accomplished women were leaving their fast-track careers. Now the UC Hastings College of the Law has released a 67-page study titled ‘Opt Out or Pushed Out?: How the Press Covers Work/Family Conflict.’ If you have time in your own overstuffed life, read both and write and tell me what you think. Let the journey continue.”
Traffic on the Off-Ramp
"It’s been more than a decade since women began to constitute half of most law school graduating classes, yet they are far from reaching equality at the top of the profession. Women still account for only 17 percent of law firm partners, 20 percent of federal judges and 14 percent of Fortune 500 general counsels. And, at the current rate, the number of women partners won’t reach parity with the number of male partners until 2088.” Mentions Joan Williams.
Give a Break to Americans Giving Birth
"Last month, The Washington Post ran one of those nauseating stories about all the fabulous maternity benefits women in France get: months of paid leave, government subsidies, free or low-cost day care and so on. I realize that nations like France, Japan, Sweden and others have reasons for providing generous financial support for new moms — stagnant population growth being one. But after taking my own meager maternity leave, mostly unpaid, hearing about policies like that makes me furious.”