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Chapter 16- Balancing Competing Demands of Work and Family
The main focus of the chapter is the competing demands of paid work and family as single parenthood and dual-earner families replace the traditional family where the husband was the breadwinner while the wife was the homemaker. The competing demands of work and family are childcare, taking care of elderly parents, and the burden of being a single-parent. The chapter also looks at how the government can intervene to help workers balance the demands of work and family. The government reviews family friendly policies such as child care, family and medical leaves, and alternative work schedules.
The Competing Demands of Work and Family
Both two-earner and single-parent families are faced by conflicts in trying to balance the demands at work and family level. These demands include taking care of small children and elderly family members, and a host of other family obligations. Women that are employed and have families find it difficult to balance the demands because they have family obligations to honor before and after work. Women do more housework than men thus reducing their wages because of decreased time and energy for work. Women’s time is also consumed taking care of the elderly because the responsibility lies mostly in their part. In the U.S, the population of persons aged over 65 is expected to increase by 100 % by 2020 therefore placing more burdens on women.
Rationales for Government and Employer Policies to Assist Workers
One economic argument that justifies the role of the government and employers in helping workers to balance demands at work and family level are the externalities of children. Any economic decision made benefits two parties either directly or indirectly. Parents benefit directly from their children by enjoying consumption rights while the society benefits indirectly when children are educated, trained, and healthy. The government also benefits indirectly because children are potential taxpayers and workers. Furthermore, the government also plays a role in helping workers balance the demands of work and family for the sake of fairness and equity among the population it serves.
Family Leave
Family leave is the time that workers are given off to enable them honor family obligations like childbirth, infant care, pregnancy, and taking care of ill family members. If family leave is not given, workers would be forced to leave their jobs at the expense of loosing earnings, ranks and accrued benefits. Any form of family leave is helpful as long a job security is guaranteed.

Child Care Child care is one of the most critical concerns for both single parent and dual-earner families. More than half of women with infants and their fathers make up the U.S’s labor market. The parents are faced with tdilemma of determining the value of time spent with children and work. If staying at home has more value that going to work, a parent chooses the former and vice-versa.
Other Family-Friendly Policies
There are other family friendly policies apart from family leave and child care. For instance, other employers provide workers with alternative work schedules that enable them to honor work and family obligations sufficiently with little straining. Part-time employment is also beneficial as workers only go to work for specific periods during the week. Other family friendly policies include job sharing and home-based work.
Chapter 17-Gender Differences around the World; An Overview
The chapter diverts attention to women in other countries other than the U.S. It looks at the factors that brings diversity in their status such as labor force participation, occupations, earnings, educational achievement, fertility, housework, women’s role in the government, cultural factors, and economic development
Indicators of Women’s Economic Status
There are various factors that could be used as indicators of women’s economic status. They include the participation of women in the labor force, the extent of occupational discrimination by gender, the ratio of female to male earnings, the comparison between educational achievement of men and women, housework, and the role of women in the government.
Labor Force Participation
The participation of women is in the labor force is one of the most important indicators of their economic level or status. The total amount of time that is given to paid work and household differs in different countries. Paid work is important than house work because it gives women more power in the society and improves the living standards of their families.
Occupations
The occupations that men and women hold differ in the world. Occupational discrimination based on sex is still extensive in many countries especially in the Middle East and North Africa. The same trend is also present in many developing countries across the globe.
Earnings
There is enough evidence that indicate the presence of disparities between the earnings of women and men. Men still earn higher salaries than men even those in the same occupation. The gender earning gap is big ranging between 8 % and 48 %. This gap is different is determined by factors like occupational discrimination, government policies, labor force attachment, and educational attainment.
Educational Attainment
The educational achievement of women is important because it determines their occupations and earnings. Educational achievement also empowers women to make viable decisions for their households and work places. The differences in educational achievement among men and women are small in developed countries but large in developing countries.
Fertility
The fertility of women is related to educational achievement and labor force participation. Women with fewer children have more time to acquire education and get paid employment opportunities.
Housework
The amount of time that women dedicate to household cores dictates the amount of time at their disposal for paid employment. In most countries, women are more involved in household work than men hence affecting their productivity at work and eventually their earnings.
Women’s Role in Government and Their Standing before the Law
The role of women in the government and before the law affects their economic status. When more women hold public positions, their issues receive enough attention and can be acted upon. Women in power illuminate the problems that other women face because of their authority.
Chapter 18 Gender Differences around the World: Specific Countries and Regions
A Comparison of United Sates to Other Economically Advanced Countries
This section explains the differences of family and employment policies between the United States and other economically advanced countries. Sweden and Japan are used to represent other advanced countries in Europe and Asia. The difference in family and employment policies between the United States and other advanced countries lies on various tax systems among others policies. The United Stats levies joint tax that affects women negatively. Sweden did away with joint income tax except for non-wage earners. Sweden instead introduced an individual system of taxation where each spouse is taxed separately and independently. Japan also introduced an individual taxation system after the WWII.
Challenges Facing Women in Developing Countries
Although a majority of the population in developing countries face problems like low living standards, short living expectancy and high rates of mortality, women suffer the most. Most women in developing countries are unable to access due to cultural factors. For instance, girls and women are more involved in household chores than men thereby lowering the opportunity cost of sending them to school. Moreover, parents in developing countries prefer to educate boys because they earn more than girls in the labor market. Other predicaments that women face in the developing countries include sex discrimination in the job market in terms of opportunities and earnings.
Countries of the former Soviet Bloc
The countries that were part of the former Soviet Union have undergone major economic development. Each country underwent independent economic developing like the Velvet Revolution in the former Czechoslovakia and Lel Walesa’s Movement in Poland. Despite this economic transition, women still face host of typical problems like concentration in the low class, low paying occupations and l0w ranks in their occupations. The gap in the earning of men and women is also still large.

Countries of the Middle East and North Africa
The economic status of women in the Middle East and North Africa defer due their diverse history, religion, culture and government. Historically, some still hold the legacies of their former colonies while other abandoned them. There are others like Turkey that remain independent hence have no colonial influence. Countries like Saudi Arabia have hereditary rulers while others like Iran have experienced different forms of government. Women’s participation in the labor force is extremely limited by cultural and religious factors. Only a few women have arose to major public positions hence making their welfare one of the poorest in the world.