Capitol Hill Briefing on Work and Family in the U.S. and Around the World: Results From the Work, Family, and Equity Index

Dr. Jody Heymann will present a new index of work, family and equity developed through a far-reaching, cross-national study of policies for working families. Dr. Heymann, M.D., Ph.D., is founder and director of the Project on Global Working Families and author of "The Widening Gap: Why America's Working Families Are in Jeopardy -- and What Can Be Done About It." Her research interests include working families, both in the United States and globally. More specifically, she has studied the relationship between parents' working conditions and children's health.

The Work, Family, and Equity Index is the first measure to examine how United States policy stacks up against 168 other countries on policies that deeply affect working families, including: maternity and paternity leave, sick leave, child care, early education, programs for school-age children, policies that meet the health needs of children, annual leave, leave to care for elderly or disabled adults, and work hours. New findings illuminate where the US leads in these policies, as well as where the US lags behind. The index also addresses the question of whether public policies can be markedly improved in the US while still competing in the global economy.

Participants

• Jody Heymann
  Canada Research Chair in Global Health and Social Policy, McGill University; Adjunct Associate Professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School, Author of Forgotten Families


• Holly Fechner
  Minority Chief Counsel for Labor, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions


• Jodi Grant
  Director, Work and Family Program and Public Policy, National Partnership for Women and Families


• Karen Kornbluh
  Director, Work and Family Program, New America Foundation