Position on Balancing Work and Life

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) believes that creating a work environment that helps employees balance the responsibilities of work and family is smart for businesses and good public policy. AAUW is committed to "greater availability of and access to benefits and policies that create a family-friendly workplace environment," which are critical to women's "equitable access and advancement in employment."⁴

Despite the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and a patchwork of state laws and employer-based benefits — many of which AAUW members helped to pass — family and personal sick leave remain elusive to many working Americans. In addition, despite the relative wealth of the United States, family oriented workplace policies in this country lag dramatically behind those in much of the rest of the word, including all high-income countries and many middle- and low-income countries as well.

While American workplace policies have lagged, the past fifty years has seen substantial changes in the composition of the American workforce. Two-thirds (about 64 percent) of women with children under six are in the labor force.⁵ Nationwide, 48.9 million individuals provide care for an adult family member or friend, and more than 70 percent of those care recipients are over the age of 50.⁶

AAUW will work to advance policies that will improve workplaces for employees with family responsibilities of all kinds. Such protections and improvements are critical to breaking through educational and economic barriers for women.

Paid Sick Days Resource Kit

Millions of Americans still do not have the option of taking a sick day to care for family members or themselves without putting their jobs, their healthcare benefits, or their family stability at risk. Download the AAUW Paid Sick Days Resource Kit. This resource kit contains a variety of useful resources to help you take action for paid sick days. We've included information about state and federal legislation, and step-by-step suggestions to help you pursue legislation mandating a minimum number of paid sick days for all workers.

For more information, call 202/785-7793 or e-mail VoterEd@aauw.org.

AAUW Public Policy and Government Relations Department

⁴ American Association of University Women. (June 2011). 2011-13 AAUW Public Policy Program. Retrieved August 11, 2011, from http://www.aauw.org/act/issue_advocacy/principles_priorities.cfm.

⁵ U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2009). Women in the Labor Force: A Databook. Retrieved February 22, 2011, from www.bls.gov/cps/wlftable6.htm.

⁶ National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. (2009) Executive Summary. Caregiving in the U.S.: Findings From the National Caregiver Survey. Retrieved February 22, 2011, from www.caregiving.org/data/CaregivingUSAllAgesExecSum.pdf.