Recent press features SOM as thought leaders in the work/life balance area
Simmons College and the School of Management have received numerous press mentions for our recent research on the choices that women and men have to make and the strategies that they can use as they seek to develop successful careers and sustain rich and satisfying personal lives. These recent articles really position the School as thought leaders in the work/life balance area.
President Cheever addresses gender inconsistencies in The Chronicle of Higher Education
Simmons College President Daniel S. Cheever Jr.’s article in The Chronicle Review section on Oct. 7, titled, “Women’s Progress: a Simple Solution,” addresses the shortcomings of society to equalize the roles of women and men in both the workplace as well as in the home. Cheever says that the real issue is the division of labor. “Somehow we expect women in traditional marriages and domestic partnerships to make serious career progress while doing most of the work raising our children, running our homes, and making connections in our neighborhoods. When you clear through the smoke screens of endless reports and apologies, it is apparent that the continued imbalance in too many family relationships is one reason why our wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters, as well as female friends, neighbors, and employees, are being held back in their careers.” Cheever’s solution is for men to deal with this difficult issue head-on. Cheever says equal partnership is needed, and it starts at home. To read the entire article, click here: http://chronicle.com/weekly/v52/i07/07b01601.htm
Simmons SOM reacts to the New York Times Sept. 20 article on women’s career paths
Dean Deborah Merrill Sands, Ph.D., along with Linda Basch, Ph.D., president of the National Council for Research on Women, and Ilene Lang, President for Catalyst, wrote a response to the New York Times’ Sept. 20 article, “Many Women at Elite Colleges Set Career Path to Motherhood.”
Their conclusions about the relevance of this story and others sweeping the media: “What women need most are not stories of highly educated women married to high earning men choosing to stay at home. Women - and the nation - need stories about flexible workplaces, adequate childcare and eldercare, living wages, equal pay, and companies that understand why retaining women workers and developing women leaders is good for the bottom line and the health of society at large and know how to retain them.” The piece was published on AlterNet. To view the entire article, please visit http://alternet.org/mediaculture/26326/
SOM and Bright Horizons survey highlighted in Aug. 29 Boston Globe article on work-life balance
The August 29 article, “Work-life issues can test managers” mentions a statistic from the Bright Horizons study that states that “…about 80 percent of workers define their ideal job as one that includes a supervisor who responds to their personal concerns.” Read the full article at http://bostonworks.boston.com/globe/balance/archives/082805.shtml
About the Survey: In a new national survey that may shatter commonly held perceptions about men’s attitudes towards work, the vast majority of men say they agree with women that life outside of work is of equal or more importance to them than their jobs. Ninety-five percent of more than 2,000 adults surveyed across the country say that life outside of work is just as important to them, or more so, than their work. There were no statistically significant differences in priorities between men and women. Workforce experts say the data may shatter commonly held perceptions that work-life integration is primarily a woman’s issue.
“The New Workforce Reality,” a study by the Simmons School of Management in Boston and Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc., was designed to understand the motivation of today’s workforce and likely priorities in the future, as employers brace for an upcoming shortage of workers in the next decade. According to federal statistics, in a few years there will be 151 million jobs in the United States but only 141 million people to fill them.
-> For an overview of the study, read the Simmons press release at http://www.simmons.edu/about/news/releases/2005/430.shtml
-> Or, download a pdf of the study
Filed under In the Media and SOM News
View all news & events for November 2005