Why Are Men More Likely to be Given Flexible Work Schedules?

As a young woman looking for a career after college, I know that the playing field is still far from level for women in the workplace. We’re subject to a stubborn wage gap between men and women doing equivalent jobs; persistent occupational segregation of women into low-paying jobs; an inadequate federal minimum and tipped minimum wage, which is hardest on women since we make up two-thirds of those paid the minimum wage or less; and sexual harassment. And this week I learned another troubling statistic: managers are more likely to grant higher-status male employees’ requests for flexible work schedules than they are to grant requests from equivalent female employees.

This finding, from a new study published in the Journal of Social Issues, states that the reason for this disparity is because of “the greater respect and admiration managers felt toward high-status male employees compared to high-status female employees.” Regardless of the reason for the request -- whether for career development or for childcare -- men who requested flextime schedules received permission more often than women.

It’s a problem in and of itself that men are regarded as higher-status than women, but it’s also a problem that flexible schedules are being doled out disproportionately to higher-status employees. This clearly disadvantages women who make up 60% of employees in low-wage jobs. Low-wage workers, who have fewest resources to pay others to take care of their responsibilities outside of work, also have least access to workplace flexibility. For example, women in low-wage jobs have reported losing pay and sometimes losing their jobs, when they could not report to work because they didn’t have child care that would allow them to work the schedule they were assigned, or their child care fell through.

Today, women make up nearly half the workforce and are 40% of primary breadwinners. Women’s employment is crucial to most families’ economic security. But because women are still the primary caregivers in families, being unable to work a schedule that allows them to also meet their caregiving responsibilities can make it very difficult for women to hold onto a job, let alone advance. Out of frustration over high levels of work-family conflict, some women have felt forced out of the workforce entirely for some period of time. Time out of the workforce diminishes earning capacity, and skills may become rusty. During the period my own mom – a high-level accountant -- has been out, my family has struggled to get by on one income. While my mother wants to return to the workforce, landing a job is difficult due to her gap in employment.

Today, it’s the wild, wild west for many employees who want to negotiate a flexible schedule. Employer policies and practices vary widely, as does employer fairness and equity in responding to these requests. The federal government could inject the whole process of negotiating for flexible schedules with a big dose of fairness by passing the Flexibility for Working Families Act. This bill creates a transparent process for employees to request flexibility or advance notice of their schedules, and for supervisors to consider the request, and prohibits discrimination for making a request. It is modeled on similar legislation enacted in the U.K more than a decade ago. And there is some evidence that this idea may be picking up steam stateside. In June, Vermont became the first state to pass a right to request bill. And San Francisco also recently introduced a ballot measure that would give employees a right to request workplace flexibility.

These types of measures are important to ensure that men and women alike have a fair shot at negotiating for the workplace flexibility they need to both get the job done and meet their responsibilities outside of work.