Guide to this List of Resources
Below are helpful links to various institutional and governmental information about family leave policies arranged into several categories by type. Scroll over a resource and click for a link to the original source.
Please note that some links may not work in all browsers. If a page does not load, cut and paste it into a different browser (e.g. Chrome, Safari, Explorer, Firefox).
This list is by no means exhaustive. It is a starting place. If you would like to share a resource, please include any pertinent citation information and use the contact form at the bottom of this page.
Special thanks to Mari Castellano for her assistance in assembling this list.
Institutional/System Policies and Best Practices:
Working Mother magazine article: “Balancing the Work Life Ledger” explaining what criteria make the best companies for working mothers & parents:
Yale University and University of Wisconsin Hospitals & Clinics were only academic institutions to make the list in 2016.
University of California Faculty Family Friendly Edge& their Resources page
University of Colorado Boulder Strategies for Effecting Gender Equity and Institutional Change
University of Virginia 2004 study on impact of parental leave
Hampton-Sydney College, VA Maternity and Paternity Leave policy
Bowdoin College leave course reduction policy
Boston College (2014) “The New Dad” study by Center for Work and Family (paternity leave)
Boston College Defining Paternity Leave
Ohio University (2012) Study on Best Practices
University of Washington additional parenting supports
Indiana University, Chemistry department accommodations
Susan Abramson, Yale WorkLife Coordinator presentation of various academic institutional practices
Academic Institution Leave Policies:
Faculty Parental Leave Policies, crowd-sourced
Knowledge and Perceptions of Family Leave Policies Among Female Faculty in Academic Medicine
Parental Leave Policies for Top 50 Public Universities (Excel spreadsheet)
Big 10 Parental Leave policies
Title IX and Pregnancy:
The Pregnant Scholar (information and advocacy page)
Corporate Family Leave Policies:
Crowd-sourced maternity leave policy database
Information Technology (IT) industry
Business Insider 2015: Companies with Best Parental Leave Policies
Working Mother Magazine Best Leave Policies
City and State Family Leave Policies/Laws:
Outside of the United States Policies/Laws:
Support, Additional Data and General Resources:
AAUW 2006 report on pregnancy in the academy
Academic Mamas Facebook page (by invitation only)
National Partnership for Women & Families
The White House, Economics of Paid and Unpaid Leave
Books about Family Leave and Related Topics:
Do Babies Matter? by Wolfinger, Goulden & Mason
Unfinished Business by Slaughter
Academic Op-Eds on Pregnancy, Parental Leave, Caregiving:
The Chronicle of Higher Education, various articles:
- http://www.chronicle.com/article/Frozen-EggsTitle-IX/235534
- http://www.chronicle.com/article/Its-Illegal-Yet-It-Happens/233445
- http://www.chronicle.com/article/Coming-Out-as-Academic-Mothers/151157
- http://www.chronicle.com/article/When-Your-Graduate-Students/148535
- http://www.chronicle.com/article/Blurred-Lines-Professor/236086
- http://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Joy-of-Pregnancy-in/236606?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=a7180256cfb64befa743131cd3778d0b&elq=0207e32ce0254a8db8b1241bd4e36b09&elqaid=9208&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=3212
- http://search.proquest.com.libweb.lib.utsa.edu/docview/1790790443/33133FF1E88A4FE5PQ/5?accountid=7122
- http://chroniclegreatcolleges.com/blog/updating-parental-leave-policies-higher-education/
Times Higher Education, various articles:
- https://www.timeshighereducation.com/features/mothers-work-life-balance-in-the-academy/2006036.article
- https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/huge-inequality-in-maternity-pay-across-sector/2013162.article
- https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/returning-academic-work-after-maternity-leave
Vitae, various articles:
- https://chroniclevitae.com/news/567-the-perfect-academic-baby https://chroniclevitae.com/news/1201-do-i-have-time-to-write-this
- https://chroniclevitae.com/news/190-no-thanks
- https://chroniclevitae.com/news/567-the-perfect-academic-baby
- https://chroniclevitae.com/news/569-are-children-career-killers
- https://chroniclevitae.com/news/630-the-afterbirth-and-the-academy
- https://chroniclevitae.com/news/525-when-grad-school-eats-up-your-good-years
- https://chroniclevitae.com/news/1510-the-baby-before-tenure-questio
- https://chroniclevitae.com/news/1407-no-i-am-not-pregnant
- https://chroniclevitae.com/news/738-the-no-matter-what-rule-of-academic-motherhood
- https://chroniclevitae.com/news/1279-time-is-a-feminist-issue-in-academia-too
- https://chroniclevitae.com/news/1373-blurred-lines-professor-engineer-mother
Inside Higher Ed
University Affairs/Affaires Universitaires
Harvard Business Review
Op-Eds on Pregnancy, Parental Leave, and Caregiving:
It’s time to make paid parental leave happen nationally, and here’s how to do it (June 2017, Brookings Institute)
How Can Universities Create a Carer-Friendly Culture? by Marie-Pierre Moreau (June 2017, The Guardian)
Family-Friendly Policy That’s Friendliest to Male Professors by Justin Wolfers (June 2016, The NY Times)
There’s Some Way to Go Before Universities Become Truly Parent-Friendly (August 2017)
How Much Paid Family Leave is Enough? by Rachel Nania (August 2017)
Blogs:
Academia and Maternity Leave by PoweredByOsteons (assistant professor):
Work-Life Balance by The Professor Is In
How does maternity/parental leave work at your college/university? on Reddit ask Academia
Postdoc Parental Leave Policies by Dynamic Ecology
Academia Has a Mom Problem by Megan Rivers-Moore
Being a Caregiver with an Academic Career, by Timothy A. Lepcyzk
Primary Research Articles about Impact of Parental Leave:
(on adult or infant health, on productivity, on child development – and related)
The maternal health outcomes of paid maternity leave: A systematic review
The Impact of Parental Leave Duration and Later Wages
Maternal Leave Policies and Vaccination Coverage
Maternal Leave and Breastfeeding (Canada)
Return to work and breastfeeding
The effects of paid maternity leave: Evidence from Temporary Disability Insurance
Knowledge and Perceptions of Family Leave Policies Among Female Faculty in Academe Medicine
Academic Life and Motherhood: Variations by institutional type (Wolf-Wendell & Ward 2009)
Parents in the Pipeline (The Pregnant Scholar)
Women negatively judged if they take maternity leave, and if they don’t (Science Daily)
Researchers with children: A disadvantage in academia
Family Friendly Best Practices:
(anything beyond what is captured in the categories above)
Child Care
Elder and Adult Care
Health Advocate “Caregiving: Impact on the Workplace”
Self Care
Pets
Fortune Magazine, “Pet-Friendly Workplaces”
Anthropology of Care/Giving, ongoing bibliography:
Suffering in a Productive World
Caregiving as a Cultural System
American Indian Family Caregiving
Grad Student Policies:
Articles or posts outlining issues with being a grad student and caregiving issues (e.g. not covered by FMLA, inflexible policies that can suspend or end research or funding, loss of housing, loss/refund financial aid, loss of health insurance, no access to advising, email, labs, library, and may or may not be protected from time limits for matriculation):
Grad Student Leave Policies: https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/abcs_and_phds_grad_student_family_leave_policies
FMLA for Grad Students: http://ask.metafilter.com/259200/Family-Medical-Leave-for-Graduate-Students
AHA (www.Historians.org) put together an amazing list of graduate student family leave policies for more than 100 universities and colleges. The link is here: https://www.historians.org/Documents/Family_Leave_Policies.doc
Bibliography and Research Resources
Abramson, Susan. “Work-Life Best Practices in Higher Education.” Powerpoint presentation, Yale University, 13-10-06.
Gahn, Sandra and Susan Carlson. “Breaking the Norms: Measuring the Impact of New Policies.” Powerpoint presentation, Iowa State University, 11-10-2008.
Gault, Barbara, Heidi Hartmann, Ariane Hegewisch, Jessica Milli, and Lindsey Reichlin. Paid Parental Leave in the United States. Report. Institute for Women’s Policy Research, U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau. 2014.
Jackson, Rebecca A., MD, Sigrid Garner, MD, MPH, Leah N. Torres, MD, Megan J. Huchko, MD, Marya G. Zlatnik, MD, and Joan C. Williams, JD. “My Obstetrician Got Me Fired: How Work Notes Can Harm Pregnant Patients and What to Do About It.” Obstetrics & Gynecology, January 5, 2015, 1-5. DOI: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000000971.
Tower, Leslie E. 2015. Changing Work/Life Policy in Institutions of Higher Education: A Case Study. In Family-Friendly Policies and Practices in Academe. Erin K. Anderson and Catherine Richards Solomon, eds. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Lexington Books, 2015.
Tower, L.E. and L.M. Dilks. “Work/Life Satisfaction Policy in ADVANCE Universities: Assessing Levels of Flexibility.” Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, (2015, June 1).
UC Hastings College of the Law. Effective Policies and Programs for Retention and Advancement of Women in Academia. Worklife Law, 2012.
We’d love to share any resources you know about that we missed! Please submit below.
