On the Fringe: Family-Friendly Benefits and the Rural–Urban Gap Among Working Women

Abstract

This study drew on longitudinal, nationally representative data to estimate rural–urban inequality in women’s access to family-friendly benefits. Multivariate fixed effects regression models showed that compared to urban women, rural women’s odds of reporting access were 11 % lower for flexible work scheduling, 24 % lower for job-protected maternity leave, 13 % lower for paid sick time, 21 % lower for vacation time, and 20 % lower for health insurance. The rural–urban gap in sick time was explained by differences in unionization, as rural women were less likely to be unionized than urban women. Our findings suggest that rural women’s work–family experiences may be more constrained than urban women’s work–family experiences.

Department

Sociology

Publication Date

7-2014

Journal Title

Journal of Family and Economic Issues

Publisher

Springer

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1007/s10834-014-9418-z

Document Type

Article

Rights

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

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