There is so much good thinking and writing on the issues we work on these days! So every month we compile some of the best that cover a variety of issues. Something for everyone!
We hope at least one of these articles speaks to you – but hey, we wouldn’t be surprised if you’re compelled to read ‘em all (we did):
1 | What Employers Need to Do for Working Parents, by Vivien Labaton (Fast Company)
Parenting is always tough. It’s stressful even with an active partner who shares equally in parenting and household responsibilities and with all the support—and artisanal pizza—that a middle-class life in Brooklyn affords. I have something millions of Americans don’t: a job that allows me to juggle work and family year-round.
2 | Five Encouraging Moments for Mothers at the State of the Union, by Tabby Biddle (Huffington Post)
The State of the Union came and went. President Obama challenged Congress to recapture a sense of common purpose that, as he put it, has always propelled America forward. “In two weeks, I will send this Congress a budget filled with ideas that are practical, not partisan. And in the months ahead, I’ll crisscross the country making a case for those ideas,” said the president. Some of those ideas will be good news to mothers around the country. That is, if we can get our representatives on board.
3 | Laughing Planet Cafe, known for its burritos, adds parental leave to its menu, George Rede (The Oregonian)
Laughing Planet Cafe, the purveyor of some of Portland’s favorite burritos, has decided to provide paid parental leave for its employees. The company announced on its Facebook page Wednesday: “On the heels of President Obama’s State of Union Address last night, Laughing Planet Café is proud to announce that we will now be offering Paid Parental Leave to our employees. In doing so we join the ranks of other esteemed burrito-loving companies such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter.”
4 | Study: Male Scientists want to be involved dads, but few are, Brigid Schulte (The Washington Post)
For years, people have been puzzling over why there are so few women in science, technology, engineering and math, and why the university professors who teach the subjects are predominantly men. Is it genetics? Preference? Caregiving responsibilities? An unwelcoming environment?
Turns out, according to a new study released Thursday on men in academic science, it may have a lot to do with the boss. The majority of tenured full professors at some of the most prestigious universities in the country, who have the most power to hire and fire and set the workplace expectation of long hours, are men who have either a full-time spouse at home who handles all caregiving and home duties, or a spouse with a part-time or secondary career who takes primary responsibility for the home.