
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, May 13, 1995                   TAG: 9505170042
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WOMEN TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

LILY TOMLIN has a great line that goes something like: "If I'd have known what it was like to have it all, I would have settled for a lot less."

It gets laughs. But, despite complaints that career women with families are overworked, stressed out and physically exhausted - all of which likely is true - a new study of women's values and goals shows most of those surveyed aren't willing to give any of it up. The study surfaced no widespread yearning to go home and stay there.

Of 1,500 women and almost 500 men surveyed by the Families and Work Institute, 48 percent of the women and 61 percent of the men would work even if they did not have to in order to live comfortably. Fifty-five percent of employed women surveyed earn half or more of their households' income - and 48 percent of those who are married do.

Among all employed women, 53 percent said they didn't want to give up either their work or their home responsibilities. And the women who held outside jobs felt more valued at home than those who did not. (Which may reflect the conventional wisdom that nothing is so appreciated as that which is gone.)

The study's sensible conclusion: Women do feel deeply about their family responsibilities, and for many of them, bringing home a paycheck is a big part of that responsibility.

If the study's findings are supported by other research into women's needs and aspirations, policymakers in businesses, government and all of society's institutions should take note:

Women are in the work force to stay, not just till they marry or their husbands get a better-paying job. Eighty-nine percent in this survey expect their daughters both to have a family and to work outside the home.

Employer cuts in benefits, such as health-insurance coverage, are a core rather than a fringe concern for women. Such concerns bring traditional concepts of "women's agendas" and "men's agendas" under one umbrella: family agendas.

Women need help to balance work and family. While most don't want to give up their jobs, 46 percent did say achieving this balance is something they worry about a lot.

Even so, a big majority - 91 percent - of the women surveyed think the American family is doing "very well" or "fairly well," compared to 88 percent in 1981. They may be tired, but they're not beat.

by CNB