We experience a lack of women leadership in the workplace or filling those roles that are traditionally filled by males only. This issue is described as the Glass Ceiling and according to the book titled, Managing Cultural Differences by authors, Neil Abramson and Robert Moran, “The “glass ceiling” refers to barriers to reaching the upper echelons of organizations. These barriers to the advancement of women and minorities are often very subtle.” (Abramson & Moran, 2018, p. 165) Not only do I believe that a woman is unable to break these old mindsets and stereotypes, but organizations fail to meet and assist a working mother with the right work life balance and parental leave that is needed to become successful in the workplace. The U.S. work life balance is not viewed or handled the same as other international countries.
Some policies and labor laws are set in place that leave European workers with more of a work life balance compared to the U.S. but according to author Abramson et. al., “Most companies have put into place specific programs to assist in breaking down barriers impeding a woman’s progression. Many include a combination of flexible work arrangements, mentoring, women’s support groups, and leadership development.” (Abramson & Moran, 2018, p. 166) I am going to compare the work-life balance and policies in Sweden compared to the United States. After viewing the examples, you will clearly be able to see how work life family balance is stronger in other European countries.
The Author of the article, Ariel Kramer lived in Sweden for 5 years and explains her 5 ways that Americans have it all wrong about work-life balance. (Kramer, 2019)
- Sweden mandates generous parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender
Sweden’s parental leave will continue to change to meet today’s needs, as parents are able to take more than 480 hours and transfer time to each other as needed. Compared to the United States, parental leave is only 480 days, and the entire time is unpaid, unless they’re able to use their own sick or personal time. In addition, parental leave is mostly only an option for mothers. This is a burden for many parents as they are unable to afford unpaid time off, so many will just quit or not take advantage of this benefit.
- Everyone Gets a minimum of five weeks of paid vacation.
In the United States, many employers rarely provide two weeks of vacation or even sick time to employees. It’s highly rare that a part-time worker is given benefit eligible incentives as vacation, sick or health insurance. Without this generous benefit, it creates such a burden for working families to care for their newborn, childcare or family needs and give the employee the time to recharge and rest.
- Sweden doesn’t penalize you for getting sick for long periods of time
The United States, many employers don’t provide the generous benefit of sick time or enough sick time days, so many employees will go to work sick because they are in fear of losing their jobs or losing money. Many mothers must take time off for different needs and especially when they have children. In the U.S., without flexible time off is the reason many mothers find themselves leaving the workplace and not appeared as career driven.
4. You even get paid time off when your kids are sick
In the United States, this benefit is compared to the FMLA leave that you can care for a child or an immediate family member. This benefit is unpaid, so many parents will send their child sick to school in fear of losing pay or their job. This benefit in the U.S., would really help a woman to care for their families and stay productive and committed to their organization.
- There are more boundaries between work and free time than in the U.S.
The United States is part of the world’s most competitive economy, so many employees in the United States are working without work life balance flexibilities, so they don’t have the culture of meeting those boundaries of work and free time. Most Americans fear of losing their job or lack of advancement if they don’t meet each job demands at any time.
Is clear to see that the U.S. is driven by old policies and mindsets and competitive nature in the workplace compared to other international countries. According to author, Abramson et. al., “In the US, for example, there is still a lingering believe that it is the woman’s responsibility to take care of children. Separating work and family into two different domains tends to be found in current Western thinking, and it supports a popular myth that women can choose on or the other, but having both is extremely difficult – when, in reality, women have almost always worked and had families, and only the context has shifted and changed over the years.” (Abramson & Moran, 2018, p. 163) In Sweden compared to the United States, they have a very progressive national policy toward children. They also have an extensive family leave that allows both parents to care for their baby without the financial burden and the respect of work life balance to ensure not only their children’s needs are met, but their own as well. Focusing on work life balance for not only a woman thought, but for both parents and changing their policies, they will be able to recognize a more positive work life engagement to their organization, that will ensure that they are committed and promote the company both professionally and personally. We can clearly see that Sweden promotes work life balance and family care is important to them compared to the U.S. The U.S. is failing to update their policies by helping to assist different woman’s needs by creating a healthy work life balance. These changes will promote workplace motivation by enhancing their mission and values.
References:
Abramson, N. R., & Moran, R. T. (2018). Managing Cultural Differences. Global Leadership for the 21st Century. New York: Routledge.
Kramer, A. (2019, August 26). I lived in Sweden for 5 years. Here are 5 things Americans get wrong about work-life balance. Retrieved from Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/sweden-us-work-life-balance-differences-2019-8
According to Chapter 5 of Managing Cultural Differences, Abramson, and Moran state, “When national cultural norms still promote a more traditional model of “parenthood,” the work–family balance debate is relegated as an issue that women face. Even though, in some cases, this can conceal a male belief that household- and child-related work are primarily women’s responsibilities,42 it is also an issue that men face in an effort to find work–family balance.” (Abramson & Moran, 2018, p. 163)
I believe an updated FMLA would be a good resource for working mothers and help them in some way to break the glass ceiling. An updated FMLA policy would break them out from the culture norms that a mother should only care for their children and cannot have a career at the same time.
According to the Journal of International & Comparative Law, “American policymakers should take note of the strengths of the Swedish model of parental leave to help rectify the current issues and limitations of the United States’ parental leave policy. The United States needs a policy update to the twenty-five-year-old FMLA to promote gender equality and to provide for low-income families. National paid parental leave legislation, based on a social insurance model similar to that existing in Sweden, is paramount to guaranteeing that this necessary social benefit is available to all citizens in the United States. FMLA leave should be paid, and its eligibility requirements should be relaxed to cover more expecting parents.” (Campbell, 2019, p. 140)
If the FMLA policy could be a paid leave policy, we would be able to find more women in leadership roles. Many mothers who are unable to take benefit of the leave because it is unpaid will now be able to take advantage of the benefit and still have a job when their time is exhausted. We will find more minorities taking advantage of this benefit and will find less mothers seeking government assistance. This updated FMLA policy will give minorities with low paying jobs the work life balance that they need because many of their hourly jobs are not as flexible with their schedules and are unable to give them the time off that they need.
The Journal of International & Comparative Law also states, “Many of the members of Congress have never been affected by parental leave policies as “[eight] percent of Congress is older and male. There are also longstanding ideologies present in the United States that will make guaranteed paid parental leave policy difficult to enact. Americans tends to distrust federal government mandates in general. Additionally, many Americans believe in traditional gender roles in the home, where mothers stay at home as caretakers, and fathers are breadwinners.” (Campbell, 2019, p. 140)
It appears that the United States are unable to break out from the cultural norms, but the FMLA policy should be changed to help working families hold their jobs without fears of losing their jobs and provide them with the work life balance that is most needed. I believe it will improve our poverty level and we will find woman in more leadership roles.
Works Cited
Abramson, N. R., & Moran, R. T. (2018). Managing Cultural Differences. New York: Routledge.
Campbell, M. (2019). Family Leave: Comparing the United States’ Family and Medical Leave Act with Sweden’s Parental Leave Policy. Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law, 9(2).
Hello Anna,
Thank you for sharing your blog post.
In Chapter 5 of Managing Cultural Differences, Abramson and Moran look at varying aspects of Women in Global Leadership. One area they covered was the lack of representation of women in Executive Leadership Roles. To elaborate, Abramson and Moran (2018, p. 152) cite Meyerson and Fletcher stating, “Women in the highest level of business are still rare. They comprise only 10% of senior managers in Fortune 500 companies”. Abramson and Moran (2018, p. 153) further illustrate this disparity is even greater for African American women, as they comprise a mere 6% of women’s managerial roles.
Your post may shine some light on one reason for the lack of women in senior Leadership Roles. Could the root cause of some of this disparity we see be linked back to parental leave policies in the United States?
Two points come to light for me through your post.
1. Is FMLA sufficient in providing for families, as well as assist women in achieving higher ranking leadership roles?
Thoughts:
It is my belief FMLA is not a sufficient resource. Jou, Kozhimannil, Abraham, Blewett, and McGovern report, “In 2012, over 2.8 million U.S. workers refrained from taking needed family or medical leave due to economic concern”. Other states have tried to close this gap by adding disability options and have seen some improvements for those taking the leave, including improved health. What I am curious about – does this helps break the “glass ceiling”. I am curious what thoughts you may have on this.
2. Has Sweden found a solution that not just helps families economically, but also boosts the number of women in senior leadership roles.
Thoughts:
It seems Sweden has found a work/family balance solution, but have they seen an increase in women in senior leadership roles from the policies they have in place? An article from BBC Savage (2019, para. 1) states,
“Strong progress has been made in the public sector; in Sweden, more women than men currently hold management positions in this sphere. In politics, 46% of Swedish members of parliament are women, while the proportion in other Nordic countries is around 40%.”
Conclusions:
It is evident through our reading’s disparities exist among the mix of men and women in leadership roles. In the United States, this could be a symptom of our current policies surrounding FMLA, and other leaves of absence that promote work-life balance. Sweden has shown, at least in the public sector, they can close this disparity through policies they have in place. However, while it seems changes are needed in the United States, I think it is first also important to understand our culture and mindset before making needed changes. What worked for Sweden, may not work for the United States due to inherent cultural differences.
Citations:
Abramson, N. R., & Moran, R. T. (2018). Managing Cultural Differences Global Leadership for the 21st Century (10th ed.). Routledge.
Jou, J., Kozhimannil, K. B., Abraham, J. M., Blewett, L. A., & McGovern, P. M. (2017). Paid maternity leave in the United States: Associations with maternal and infant health. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 22(2), 216–225. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-017-2393-x
Savage, M. (2019, September 4). The ‘paradox’ of working in the world’s most equal countries. BBC Worklife. Retrieved September 25, 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190831-the-paradox-of-working-in-the-worlds-most-equal-countries.
I have actually looked at the Swedish model and found it very fascinating. My question is, where does the government/company’s responsibility end and the individual’s begin. As a women I would have loved to have all the paid time off with my newborn and not been forced to rush back to work, so there is a part of me that says this is great. Then the business side of me comes out and says how is the business supposed to function while someone is taking all this time off and who is compensating them for this mandatory time off. When the business is there to make a profit, why is it their responsibility to create such a work life balance for their employees? As an employee I think it is great but as a business I would think this would be a financial hardship that was being forced on them.