That sets their seniority clock to zero if and when they take on a new job, delaying their opportunities for promotion.

When employees lose childcare or when their partners’ work schedules change, they sometimes have to quit their jobs. For instance, as Ella Bell Smith and Stella Nkomo document in the pathbreaking book Our Separate Ways, Black women are more likely than white women to be underestimated by their supervisors and to be disciplined. On top of that, they often face stronger performance pressures and have to work harder to prove their talents. People of color also more often lack access to reliable and affordable childcare-which allows parents to stay in their jobs and develop the skills and reputation needed for career advancement. Those numbers have barely changed since the 1970s. Before Covid-19, the median Black or Hispanic family of three earned just 61% of what the median white family did and was twice as likely to live in poverty. They’re more likely to be in poorly paid jobs, with even two-parent households needing both partners’ 40 (or 60) hours’ worth of weekly wages just to make ends meet. Then there’s the fact that people of color in the United States, on average, have fewer resources than white people do. Single fathers head 12% of Black and Hispanic families and 7% of white and Asian American families. Single mothers head 41% of Black families, 25% of Hispanic families, 13% of white families, and 11% of Asian American families. Women and people of color are, for example, more likely to be single parents than white men are. Why do those groups benefit so much from work/life support? Because they face the greatest work/life challenges. So did the percentage of white female managers. We found that when companies had universal policies for family leave time, flexible scheduling, and help with childcare, the percentages of Black, Hispanic, and Asian American male and female managers increased significantly. companies across more than 30 years and talked to dozens of managers. To assess how various work/life initiatives affect the management workforce, we looked at data from over 800 U.S. In fact, when it comes to increasing diversity among managers, they’re better than the most popular racial-equity programs. But our research has revealed another benefit: They can also boost your organization’s diversity. And now it’s clear that they are also a powerful way to increase organizational diversity.Ĭorporate programs that support work/life balance promote productivity, reduce turnover, and improve employees’ mental and physical health. In fact, those work/life benefits had a larger impact than the most popular racial-equity programs did.Ĭompanies have long known that programs promoting work/life balance boost productivity, reduce turnover, and improve employees’ mental and physical health. companies over 30 years, they found that when companies offered flexible work schedules, family leave, and childcare support to all employees, the percentage of women and people of color in management rose significantly. Given that situation, the authors decided to examine what effects various corporate work/life programs had on the management workforce. They are also the least likely to receive it, however, and as a result often are forced to change or leave jobs and lose out on opportunities for advancement. Women and people of color need it the most, research shows, because they face greater challenges and have fewer resources available to them. To succeed, almost every employee needs work/life support at some point.

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