Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 15, 1995 TAG: 9509150022
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The department hopes to have 1,000 pledges by next spring; already, more than 100 businesses, unions, other organizations and individuals have been accepted. Examples include:
Eight San Francisco companies that formed an emergency day-care consortium for employees whose regular arrangements fall through.
The GTE Corp., for its policy of offering emergency child care on snow days and holidays when employees' children aren't in school.
The city of Kansas City. Mo., for the four hours of paid leave it offers each year for employees to participate in their children's school activities.
Theoretically, this is a strange honor roll, for it implies that only working women benefit from child-care arrangements, flexible schedules and encouraged involvement in schools.
Shouldn't fathers as much as mothers benefit from such policies?
Of course they should. Many do, and the numbers will continue to grow.
But, right now, in the world most Americans inhabit - a world where women still assume primary (unpaid) responsibility for child-rearing, not to mention household cleaning - enlightened employment policies have been made all the more urgent by women's massive infusion into the (paid) work force.
We could cite examples of businesses in Western Virginia promoting policies similar to those mentioned above. Which goes to another point: Employers aren't doing this to get recognition from the Labor Department.
Appearing on an honor roll is nice, but that's not the prime motive for trying to improve women employees' working lives. These companies know that happier employees are better employees, and better employees is good business.
They may also discern that the future work force will be a better one if tomorrow's workers are raised today by parents who are employed by companies that prize family values.
by CNB