Each month, we select up to ten publications from those that have recently been entered into the Literature Database.

A year ago, there were approximately 6,534 citations in the Literature Database. As of July 2006, we now have over 7,600 citations.

Click here for a direct link to the Sloan Literature Update articles in the Literature Database.

Alpern, S.L. (2005). Solving work/family conflict by engaging employers: A legislative approach. Temple Law Review, 78(2), 429-452.
One factor exacerbating work-family conflict is employers’ continued expectations of an ideal worker with either no caregiving responsibilities or a full-time caretaking spouse. Primary caregivers, usually women, bear the brunt of this work-family conflict, but it affects both individuals and families in terms of long-term financial and societal costs. This paper explores the background and underpinnings of work-family conflict, explores the use of litigation under Title VII, originally established and traditionally used to fight sexual discrimination, and finally proposes a legislative solution that employs tax incentives to encourage employees to establish family-friendly workplaces.

Cooney, K. (2006). Mothers first, not work first: Listening to welfare clients in job training. Qualitative Social Work, 5(2), 217-235.
This article details a qualitative study with two focus groups, one of eight English speakers, one of nine Spanish speakers, all of whom were participating in vocational training. The paper compares assumptions about welfare legislation with the perspectives of welfare recipients as they experience the policy. Findings indicate that stereotypes about the barriers to self-sufficiency faced by welfare recipients that emphasize personal responsibility, lack of work ethic and moral hazards of welfare dependency do not describe the situations of the interviewees. Actual barriers include lack of specific skills, an unstable labor market, and parenting-work conflicts. The author suggests coalition building between welfare recipients and other groups struggling with similar work-family issues.

Crosby, F.J., Iyer, A., & Sincharoen, S. (2006). Understanding affirmative action. Annual Review of Psychology, 57, 585-611.
Affirmative action is a controversial, often misunderstood policy. This paper explains how the policy operates in workplace and educational settings and details the work of social scientists in demonstrating the need for the policy, the unintended negative consequences, and recommendations for successful affirmative action programs. The variations in people’s attitudes towards the policy and the methods used to study these variations are discussed.

Global Perspectives - Ezawa, A. & Fujiwara, C. (2005). Lone mothers and welfare-to-work policies in Japan and the United States: Towards an alternative perspective. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 32(4), 41-63.
In 1996, the United States introduced welfare reforms that emphasize independence through work, drastically reducing the availability of cash assistance. Similarly, in 2002, Japan restructured its “dependent children’s allowance,” the major source of financial government support for single mothers, introducing a five year time limit and an increased emphasis on independence though work. This paper examines the reforms of “lone mother policies” and assesses their nature and the implications for the women and children served by the policies. Recommendations highlight the importance of addressing the overwhelming low wages of single working mothers through policies for the working poor.

Gault, B. & Lovell, V. (2006). The costs and benefits of policies to advance work/life integration. American Behavioral Scientist, 49(9), 1152-1164.
This article makes the case for improved federal and state work-life policies, provides examples of successful policy approaches, and discusses methods of assessing programs’ costs and benefits. Topics given detailed attention include paid sick leave, paid family and medical leave, publicly funded pre-kindergarten, and the need for a “groundswell of public pressure” from the political mainstream on decision makers to support these policies. The importance of vocal endorsement from businesses and the election of female political representatives are discussed.

Global Perspectives -Lewis, J. (2006). Work/family reconciliation, equal opportunities and social policies: The interpretation of policy trajectories at the EU level and the meaning of gender equality. Journal of European Public Policy, 13(3), 420-437.
The paper examines the recent development of three fields of public policy at the European Union (EU) level: work/family reconciliation, equal opportunities, and social policies. The author argues that these fields are closely connected historically in their development, with a commitment to promoting gender equality. The article reviews and compares the recent shifts in development these three policy fields and considers the impact on the way in which the goal of gender equality has been conceptualized. In the case of work/family reconciliation policy, the author contends that the notion of ‘reconciliation’ has frequently been embedded in gender-neutral language and has often been taken to mean the ‘harmonization’ of paid and unpaid work for women, rather than in the sense of equal sharing between men and women at the household level. The paper suggests that when recent policy trajectories of the three fields are taken together, gender equality is now framed more narrowly and more instrumentally towards the wider agenda on employment and economic growth. The author concludes the meaning of gender equality has shifted in terms of widening labor market participation, rather than towards the equal sharing of unpaid care work between men and women and changing the behavior of men. Annotated by Uracha Chatrakul Na Ayudhya, Doctoral Researcher, Manchester Metropolitan University, United Kingdom.

Birch, E.R. & Miller, P.W. (2006). How does marriage affect the wages of men in Australia? The Economic Record, 82(257), 150-164.
Labor economics literature suggests that married men have higher wages than their unmarried counterparts. This paper investigates how marriage affects Australian men’s wages. Findings indicate that married Australian men earn about five percent more than their unmarried counterparts, with the wives’ level of education lending particularly complimentary impact to the level of earnings. Men married to women who work earn about twelve percent less than men married to non-working women, with the reduction in wages larger for men with less-educated wives, full-time working wives and men with a child aged five or under.

Delgado, E.A. & Canabal, M.E. (2006). Factors associated with negative spillover from job to home among Latinos in the United States. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 27(1), 92-112.

This study estimates the effect of working conditions as well as individual and family characteristics on negative spillover from work to home for Latino and Non-Latino White workers. Among Latinos surveyed, the only characteristic associated with negative spillover is gender. For Non-Latino Whites, younger workers, women, and workers with young children and a partner in residence experienced higher levels of negative spillover than older workers, men, those without young children and singles. Working conditions such as hours, supervisor support, job pressure and autonomy affect negative spillover for both groups. Findings suggest that familism provides Latino workers with higher support from extended family and the community, and that working women, regardless of ethnicity, are expected to cook, clean and care for family members in addition to their employment.

Pitt-Catsouphes, M., MacDermid, S.M., Schwartz, R. & Matz, C. (2006). Community contexts: The perspectives and adaptations of parents. American Behavioral Scientist, 49(10), 1400-1421.
This paper examines the importance of considering communities as important social contexts for working families. In using the Nurturing Families Study, which gathered data from 357 working parents and 199 children in six different U.S. communities, the authors collected data on parents’ perceptions of community programs and services, children’s schools, neighborhood relationships, family-friendly community policies, welcoming values, and overall satisfaction with neighborhoods and communities. Findings indicate the usefulness of measuring workers’ perceptions of their communities and suggest a link between community factors and families’ experiences.