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In a much-publicized and much-maligned 2003New York Timesarticle, The Opt-Out Revolution, the journalist Lisa Belkin made the controversial argument that highly educated women who enter the workplace tend to leave upon marrying and having children.Women Who Opt Outis a collection of original essays by the leading scholars in the field of work and family research, which takes a multi-disciplinary approach in questioning the basic thesis of the opt-out revolution. The contributors illustrate that the desire to balance both work and family demands continues to be a point of unresolved concern for families and employers alike and women's equity within the workforce still falls behind. Ultimately, they persuasively make the case that most women who leave the workplace are being pushed out by a work environment that is hostile to women, hostile to children, and hostile to the demands of family caregiving, and that small changes in outdated workplace policies regarding scheduling, flexibility, telecommuting and mandatory overtime can lead to important benefits for workers and employers alike.Contributors:Kerstin Aumann, Jamie Dolkas, Ellen Galinsky, Lisa Ackerly Hernandez, Susan J. Lambert, Joya Misra, Maureen Perry-Jenkins, Peggie R. Smith, Pamela Stone, and Joan C. Williams.

Academic Motherhoodtells the story of over one hundred women who are both professors and mothers and examines how they navigated their professional lives at different career stages. Kelly Ward and Lisa Wolf-Wendel base their findings on a longitudinal study that asks how women faculty on the tenure track manage work and family in their early careers (pre-tenure) when their children are young (under the age of five), and then again in mid-career (post-tenure) when their children are older. The women studied work in a range of institutional settings-research universities, comprehensive universities, liberal arts colleges, and community colleges-and in a variety of disciplines, including the sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences.Much of the existing literature on balancing work and family presents a pessimistic view and offers cautionary tales of what to avoid and how to avoid it. In contrast, the goal ofAcademic Motherhoodis to help tenure track faculty and the institutions at which they are employed \"make it work.\" Writing for administrators, prospective and current faculty as well as scholars, Ward and Wolf-Wendel bring an element of hope and optimism to the topic of work and family in academe. They provide insight and policy recommendations that support faculty with children and offer mechanisms for problem-solving at personal, departmental, institutional, and national levels.

In a developing nation like the Philippines, many mothers provide for their families by traveling to a foreign country to care for someone else’s. Families Apart focuses on Filipino overseas workers in Canada to reveal what such arrangements mean for families, documenting the difficulties of family separation and the problems that children have when reuniting with their mothers in Vancouver.

For some women, leaving the workforce to care for children or family is a choice. For others, it’s a necessity. But Neha Ruch, founder of Mother Untitled, doesn’t think a career pause means putting aside professional ambitions. Ali Rogin speaks with Ruch about what inspired her new book, \"The Power Pause: How to Plan a Career Break After Kids — and Come Back Stronger Than Ever\".

Background In Ghana, periodic national surveys report the practice of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) in the general population to be over 50 %. However, little is known about EBF among professional working mothers, particularly its duration after maternity leave. Female workers are entitled to 12 weeks (84 days) of maternity leave with full pay in Ghana, and this can be extended by two additional weeks in case of a caesarean or abnormal delivery. This study assessed the prevalence of EBF, as well as factors associated with the practice among professional working mothers in one of the ten regional capitals of Ghana. Methods The study was descriptive cross-sectional in design and employed a multi-stage sampling technique to sample 369 professional working mothers. The study was planned and implemented between January to July 2015. Study-specific structured questionnaires were used in the data collection over a period of one month. Some factors including demographic characteristics, types of facilities available at workplace to support breastfeeding, challenges to exclusive breastfeeding at the workplace and mother’s knowledge base on EBF, were assessed. Exclusive breastfeeding is defined as feeding infants with only breast milk, without supplemental liquids or solids except for liquid medicine and vitamin or mineral supplements. Results There was a near universal awareness of exclusive breastfeeding among respondents (99 %). Even though most mothers initiated breastfeeding within an hour of delivery (91 %), the EBF rate at six months was low (10.3 %). The study identified three elements as determinants of EBF; Those who did not receive infant feeding recommendation from health workers were less likely to practice exclusive breastfeeding (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] 0.45; 95 % Confidence Interval [CI] 0.27, 0.77), mothers who had shorter duration of maternity leave were less likely to practice exclusive breastfeeding (AOR 0.09; 95 % CI 0.02, 0.45), and those who had a normal delivery were almost 10 times as likely to practice exclusive breastfeeding (AOR 9.02; 95 % CI 2.85, 28.53). Conclusion Given the high breastfeeding initiation, but low EBF continuation rate among professional working mothers, improved policies around maternity leave and breastfeeding friendly work environments are needed.

Purpose This study aims to understand how the recent COVID-19 pandemic impacted burnout levels among working mothers in leadership positions and how income and work schemes play an important role in their burnout. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 961 working mothers and fathers in leadership positions in Mexico under different work schemes during the COVID-19 lockdown. Snowball sampling was used in this study. The Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey was distributed online, using the burnout scale, with income and work schemes as categorical variables. Findings Burnout levels among working mothers in leadership positions were higher than those among working fathers. The hybrid work scheme (i.e. working from home combined with working from office) lessens burnout in working mothers, contributing both theoretically and empirically to better understanding burnout levels of mothers in leadership positions. Practical implications The findings can encourage human resource areas to reflect on the overexertion and work stress of mothers in leadership positions, and potential support resources can be provided to motivate them and retain their talent. Originality/value The introduction of the notion of lockdown in a conceptual model to observe its interaction with burnout and hybrid work schemes (i.e. working from the office and home) has rarely been discussed in existing literature. The impact, especially for working mothers in leadership positions, must be thus carefully considered while dealing with future crises, thereby helping to develop policies and processes accordingly.

Although extant research demonstrates the negative impact of overparenting on child well-being, there remains a paucity of evidence on the effect of overparenting on the parents’ own well-being. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of overparenting on parental well-being, and to explore the mechanisms through which overparenting influences the well-being of working mothers, particularly among established adults. Thus, we examined the serial mediation effects of perceived stress and family-to-work conflict (FWC) in overparenting and well-being linkage. With this aim, the data were collected from working mothers ( N  = 258) aged between 30 and 45, a period of in their lifespan generally characterized by efforts devoted to career and care. Via serial mediation analyses, the findings postulate that (a) overparenting relates to the well-being and perceived stress of working mothers, (b) perceived stress (both individually and jointly with FWC) mediates the relationship between overparenting and well-being, and (c) perceived stress and FWC serially mediate the association between overparenting and well-being. The findings provide evidence related to the well-being experiences of established adulthood women in struggling their career-and care crunch from a perspective of overparenting, stress, and family-to-work conflict.

This study aimed to examine the challenges faced by young mothers who engage in distant parenting due to labour migration. The paper challenges the traditional notion that men are typically the breadwinners and the ones practising distant parenting. It resonates well with the 20th century as women are increasingly infiltrating workplaces and striving to ensure good relations with their children. This paper accentuates how distant parenting, due to labour migration, influences the mother-child relationship. A qualitative research approach and exploratory design were employed to gather rich data from 12 participants. A convenience sampling technique was used, and the participants were interviewed telephonically. Data was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Key findings revealed young working mothers’ experiences of socioeconomic barriers, erosion of family relationships and work-life imbalance due to labour migration. Despite the challenges, young working mothers also shared coping strategies which they deployed to keep in contact with their children. They attempt to manage both work and parenthood with little to no support from their employment. Thus, it is recommended that policies addressing mental health in the workplace be implemented, as they do exist, but some employers disregard them.

Background Stunting, a condition in which children fail to achieve their expected height for age, is a significant public health problem, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The nutrition and caring practices of mothers and children during the first 1000 days of life determine the ability of a child to develop, learn, and thrive; however, mothers who work may not be able to ensure that their child is receiving adequate nutrition in the early stages of life. This study aimed to identify the determinants of working mothers’ stunting prevention behavior, including individual factors, work-related stress, well-being, knowledge, and attitudes toward the behavior of working mothers in supporting the prevention of stunting in West Java Province, Indonesia. Methods This study used a cross-sectional design with a total sample of 225 working mothers in 78 offices mapped in Bandung city, Bekasi city, Bekasi Regency, Karawang Regency, West Bandung Regency, and Sumedang Regency in West Java Province, Indonesia. The inclusion criteria were as follows: working mothers aged 18 and above who reside and work in 6 cities/regencies of the study, have at least one child under the age of 5 years, and have consented to participate. The questionnaire consisted of demographic data and health characteristics, as well as questionnaires on knowledge, attitudes, work-related stress, well-being, and stunting prevention behavior. The data were analyzed using chi-square tests and logistic regression. Results Among the 19 variables, two determinant factors influence stunting prevention behavior among working mothers in West Java Province, Indonesia. These factors are working mothers’ well-being (OR 3.30, P  < 0.001) and knowledge about stunting prevention (OR 2.79, P  < 0.001). A low level of well-being among working mothers increases the risk of poor stunting prevention behavior by 3.30 times. Similarly, insufficient knowledge about stunting prevention increases this risk by 2.79 times. The interplay between well-being and knowledge may improve mothers’ stunting prevention behavior. Conclusions Working mothers’ well-being and knowledge of stunting prevention affect their stunting prevention behavior. This study is the first in Indonesia to explore the determinant factors of stunting prevention behavior among working mothers. Working mothers should receive special attention from the government regarding their rights to improve their well-being and knowledge related to their health. Further research should adopt longitudinal and intervention-based designs, include other caregivers, and explore diverse geographic and employment settings. Research on workplace and policy-level support systems is also recommended to inform more comprehensive strategies for improving child health outcomes.

PurposeRecent gender-related research has focused on how gender affects work–life balance (WLB), particularly whether men and women have similar difficulties balancing work and family demands. However, to broaden WLB research beyond its concentration on employees to a different population, this study investigates the WLB experiences of single student-working mothers.Design/methodology/approachThis article uses a qualitative study using three focus groups to compare Nigerian and British single student-working mothers' WLB experiences and coping strategies or mechanisms adopted in these two contexts.FindingsThe findings indicate that, regardless of nationality, single student-working mothers are affected by inter-role conflict, role ambiguity, role strain, role overload and external role pressures, which make achieving WLB a herculean task. Nevertheless, given the different political, economic and socio-cultural landscapes of the two countries, the extent to which the aforementioned factors impact single student-working mothers varies and influences the range of coping mechanisms adopted in the two contexts.Practical implicationsThe insights gleaned from this study suggest that there are huge challenges for single student-working mothers in terms of achieving WLB due to their status as students, workers and mothers. Combining these roles negatively affect their WLB and level of productivity and effectiveness, at home, at work and at university. This poses significant implications for human resource structures, policies and practices. The authors suggest that single student-mothers should learn from their counterparts' experiences and coping mechanisms, and that organisations and government should also provide adequate support to help them combine their challenging roles. This would ease the tension associated with combining multiple roles and enhance their well-being and WLB.Originality/valueThe study calls for a re-examination of WLB policies and practices at organisational and national levels to ensure that single student-working mothers are well supported to enhance their productivity and WLB.