Mothers on the Job: Maternity Policy in the U.S. Workplace [Paperback]

Lise Vogel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1993

"An impressive book. . . . Vogel makes a wide range of perspectives on the equality/difference debate easily accessible to nonspecialists." --Ruth Milkman, UCLA, author of Gender at Work: The Dynamics of Job Segregation by Sex during World War II What kinds of benefits do working mothers need? How can the ideals of equality be reconciled with the gender specificity of motherhood? Lise Vogel examines the way these questions have long constituted a dilemma both for U.S. public policy and for feminist thought. Vogel begins by assessing the background to the contemporary debates. Early twentieth-century progressives underscored women's need for special protection and sought female-specific benefits. Though few were provided and even they were extended only to white women, a maternity policy was nonetheless put in place. In the 1960s, a new kind of maternity policy, framed on equality, began to be constructed. Vogel traces the history of the shift, showing how feminists abandoned difference, and moved to demands for equal treatment. Although initiated by feminists, equal treatment could paradoxically be a pretext for a mean-spirited denial of needed benefits. Employers could claim that pregnancy leave was preferential treatment and conflicted with the principle of equality. In the 1980s, litigation over pregnancy leave triggered a debate between advocates of gender-neutral strategies and those who called for female-specific policies. In analyzing these debates, Vogel refused to choose between equality and difference. Rather, she shows that the dichotomy must be resisted in practical politics as well as at the level of theory, and she supports new policies such as family leave and comparable worth. In the furor over family values, single motherhood, diversity, and reverse discrimination, Vogel speaks with a clear and intelligent voice. She makes a powerful argument for a conception of equality that encompasses the special character of maternity. Lise Vogel teaches sociology and women's studies at Rider College and is the author of Marxism and the Oppression of Women (Rutgers University Press).

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Due to its dry, legalistic style, this comprehensive volume will be most useful to those doing research in the field of maternity benefits. Vogel ( Marxism and the Oppression of Women ) focuses on pregnancy in analyzing the arguments for and against two categories for the treatment of working women: a framework based on women's difference from men, and an equality-based framework. The first type seeks special compensation for women due to their ability to bear children, but usually these policies end up damaging their standing in the workplace as well. The equality framework basically ignores the fact that women bear children and insists that women and men be treated in the same manner. In the final chapter Vogel suggests that the solution lies somewhere between the two, with "differential consideration," an idea that already stands behind legislation regulating comparable worth and family and medical leave. In delineating her solution, Vogel also details changes in the treatment of women in this area over the last century or so in the U.S. and occasionally in Europe. Unfortunately, the discussion is based on court cases, with little social history here to round it out.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press (March 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813519195
• ISBN-13: 978-0813519197
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,149,059 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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