all Radcliffe Public Policy Center stories

Radcliffe fellows look at 'ordinary heroines'

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:07:31 -0400

American women who work full-time earn an average of 74 cents for each dollar earned by men. The gender discrepancy is most pronounced among low-income workers. Millions of women struggle to rear children on low wages and with few paths toward career advancement. A group of fellows from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University has investigated how these women hold down jobs, care for their families, and pursue their dreams in low-income America. The fellows have analyzed the situation of low-income working women from the perspectives of psychology, anthropology, and sociology. They see these women as "ordinary heroines" who have persevered despite the fact that they have not benefited from the nationwide economic growth of recent years.

Study finds that for young men, family comes first

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:08:09 -0400

Breaking ranks with their fathers and grandfathers on the important issue of work-family integration, 71 percent of men 21-39 said in a survey that they would give up some of their pay for more time with their families. "What we're seeing is a transformation between generations and gender," said Paula Rayman, director of the Radcliffe Public Policy Center and principal investigator in the study "Life's Work: Generational Attitudes Toward Work and Life Integration." The survey showed that increasing numbers of young men want to take an active role in raising their children; most workers perceive that their loyalty toward employers is not reciprocated; and many workers are sleep deprived. "Young men are beginning to replicate women's sensibilities instead of women in the workforce trying to be more like men." Eighty-two percent of men ages 20-39 put family time at the top of their list, keeping pace with 85 percent of women in those age groups.

Study finds biotech workers 'thrive' on instability

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:10:13 -0400

Marked by job insecurity, dependence on changing technology, and uncertain financing, the biotechnology industry is viewed by researchers as one of the best examples of the workplace of the future. A study by the Radcliffe Public Policy Center (RPPC) released in December 1999 found that biotech workers were actually thriving in this highly unstable environment. "The challenges biotech workers are mastering today will be the ones most workers will struggle with in the next millennium," said Paula Rayman, director of RPPC and principal investigator in the study. "In the workplace of the future, employees will have to re-invent the concept of a safety net. In biotech, we found workers were changing their attitudes and focusing less on job security than career durability. They hopscotch from one biotech company to another, carrying their skills like turtles on their back."