News

December 5, 2012

Earned Sick Time for All Oregonians

We have a problem in Oregon: Too few people earn sick time at work, but we all get sick.  A shocking40% of private-sector workers and 80% of low-income workers have no paid sick days from their job – not one.  Every one of us gets sick occasionally, but not everyone gets the time they need to recover or care for sick family members – and it affects all of us.

December 5, 2012

And We Have a Winner – Family Foward Leadership Awards

Our 2012 Family Forward Leadership Award goes to Full Access, a nonprofit agency based in Eugene – with services in five Oregon counties – that provides case management and fiscal services for adults with disabilities.  The workplace flexibility policies in place for ALL Full Access employees are making work work in a new way — a […]

December 5, 2012

Announcing 25 Flexible Workplace Award Winners

The future is full of flexible workplaces – because it has to be. Winners: Anvil Media Inc Cascade Employers Association Boly:Welch Consulting and RecruitingCascade Employers Association — Salem, OR Climax Portable Machining and Welding Systems Deloitte – Oregon offices FMYI, Inc. Full Access gDiapers Hawthorne Auto Clinic, Inc. Independent Actuaries, Inc. Isler CPA LLC KPMG […]

November 22, 2012

No Events Right Now…

But check back soon, we usually have something great in the works!

October 22, 2012

Sick Days in the Portland Tribune

On October 11, 2012, Portland Tribune reporter Steve Law shared a story about a Portland woman working without paid sick time.  Two of every 5 private-sector workers in and around Portland aren’t allowed to earn paid sick time while they work, which adversely affects their health, their workplaces, and our whole community’s health.  Read the full article here.  You’ll hear one woman’s story of life without paid sick days and find out about a forward-thinking Portland restaurant that is bucking its industry norm and putting letting its workers earn paid sick time.

August 21, 2012

NEW REPORT: Paid Sick Days

The Center for American Progress released a new fact sheet on the need for paid sick days in the United States in August, 2012.  The report authors point out how our outdated work and family policies aren’t working for today’s families. Read the full post here.

July 25, 2012

2012 National Paid Leave Summit

We were recently in Washington, DC representing Oregon at the National Summit on Paid Sick Days and Paid Family Leave, a productive event hosted by two of our strong national partners: the National Partnership for Women & Families and the team at Family Values @ Work. Read more here.

July 13, 2012

TIMBERS! Let’s watch some soccer, folks.

Now that summer’s (finally!) here, it’s a perfect time to take in a Timbers soccer game with the kids!  Don’t miss your chance to get affordable Timbers tickets while also supporting the work that Family Forward Oregon does to create smart workplace and public policies for today’s families.  The Portland Timbers have kindly offered us tickets to a Timbers “Reserve” game on Sunday, July 29th at 2 PM.  Each general admission ticket costs you just $10, and a portion of every ticket you buy goes to support our work for Oregon families.  A clear win-win.

July 12, 2012

Let’s talk about mothers & work!

We’re hosting a conversation about work and family next week in Portland and we want you to join us!  We were inspired by Anne-Marie Slaughter’s recent article in The Atlantic, “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All” (and the many, many responses to it), because she raises some important questions about mothers and work in the U.S. that we grapple with often. She also makes some very critical points about how and why our workplace and public policies aren’t in sync with today’s families.

The way we see it, our dark-age family policies  prevent too many mothers from remaining financially stable, engaging with their children, and reaching leadership positions (where we need them!). Great fodder for a hearty conversation!

Read more about the event here.

July 12, 2012

Our thoughts on Anne-Marie Slaughter’s article in The Atlantic

Anne-Marie Slaughter’s recent article in The Atlantic about the structural barriers to mothers truly succeeding (and even surviving) in the workplace, “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All,” was like a lit match touched to a fuse.  To any mother in America today, it’s obvious why: day in and day out we are forced to decide what’s more important: our work (and the financial security it brings our families) or our kids.  The result ranges from poverty and inequality to under-parented kids to a real lack of women leaders in American business and government. Keep reading here.

June 25, 2012

6.25.12 ~ Talking motherhood + work on OPB’s Think Out Loud

When Anne-Marie Slaughter’s important article in The Atlantic, “Why Women Can’t Have It All,” went live last week, we knew it would be big.  And rightly so.  Ms. Slaughter is an exceptionally accomplished woman who decided to speak openly, honestly and constructively about the fact that motherhood and work aren’t compatible enough in the U.S. for mothers to reach the highest levels of power and success. Which is a problem not just for American women (and their families), but also for our nation.  When women are systematically prevented from reaching real positions of power, it impacts our public policies – affecting everything from childcare programs to war policy. Read on…