Despite demographic shifts in the composition of the labor force and the family over the past 30 years, the workplace, in large part, has continued to assume the presence of a male breadwinner and female homemaker within each family. Many employers have implemented family-friendly workplace policies and programs to help working families to meet their work and family responsibilities. However, the decision to use these policies is often affected by employee perceptions of what it means to be an "ideal worker” and/or an "ideal mother/father." This Topic Page will explore how gender influences the use of work-family policies.
Updated: July 2009