Mommy Track Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mommy Track - Essay Example Compliance with laws such as these entails additional costs to businesses. At first impression, it would seem that corporate policy should be that employment of women is better avoided than encouraged. However, a study by Cohen & Blanchi (1999) shows a steadily increasing trend of women's labor force participation for the period 1971 to 1997. This leads to the conclusion that although it may cost more to employ women than men, there is relatively no negative impact on the profitability of businesses. Therefore, the higher costs of employing women will have no implications on corporate policy as long as the business benefits derived from women employees offset the costs. Schwartz definition of two types of working women as those who are career-primary and those who are career-and-family is quite accurate. It is therefore desirable for companies to distinguish the different types of career paths followed by female employees. According to Schwartz, career-primary women should be recognized early and accepted so that artificial barriers in their career path to the top may be cleared. In a similar way, career-and-family women should also be recognized and accepted and not be made to choose between career and family. Losing such women from the organization means losing a valuable resource and a competitive advantage. I 3. Do you think there already is such a thing as a mommy track Is the idea of a mommy track a good one Is it somehow discriminatory against women Against men I think there already is such a thing as a mommy track, especially in societies where the traditional roles of male as breadwinner and female as homemaker have been ingrained through centuries. The idea of a mommy track may actually be a good one. According to Quinn in a Newsweek article (2000), a rising proportion of women are choosing motherhood over career. Quinn says that this choice is a result of prosperity. When couples needed two incomes to survive, women had to find jobs. But when couples were able to manage with just one income, women can make the choice of staying at home. In this author's opinion, a mommy track is not discriminatory both for women and men. It is simply another alternative option to choose from. Quinn's article quotes a 32-year old mother of two who says that she does not feel a big need to work because she knows she can if she wants to. 4. Should special organizational arrangements be made for workers who wish to combine careers and child-raising Identify the steps that companies can take to accommodate parental needs more effectively. A company that specifically targets women workers must indeed, make special arrangements to address the needs of such workers, including child-raising concerns. Some steps that companies can take to accommodate parental needs more effectively are: Granting parental leave to increase the ability of families to balance the needs of the workplace and home. According to a study by Ruhm (2002), the first years of life is a critical period for a child and parents