No Images? Click here Greetings, friends! Welcome to Your Life, Better for July 28, 2017. Here are five things you need to know this week to make your life better at work and at home: The Salary BattleLet’s be real, the modern day workplace does not support everyone equally. There are clear winners and losers when measuring compensation and accounting for stock options realized, salary, bonuses, restricted stock grants, and long-term incentive payouts. A study by the Economic Policy Institute finds that in 2016 dollars, CEO’s make 270 times the annual average pay of the typical worker. But, who are these CEO’s? NOT WOMEN! The New York Times reported that women chief executives of Fortune 500 companies recently surpassed 6%, which is not a measure that holds steady. So what’s holding them back from the number one spot? Results from the women surveyed suggest they are viewed as too aggressive or assertive, less visionary or competitive, and overly penalized for mistakes. It’s concerning that these very attitudes were reflected in the questions women CEOs are asked during interviews. The Wall Street Journal reported on a study done by Dana Kanze at Columbia Business School that looks at interview questions asked to female founders. The results show that questions asked of male entrepreneurs focus on the company’s potential for success, while ⅔ of questions asked of female founders’ are about preventing failure or lost customers. Unfortunately, men are oblivious to this problem. Fortune reported on a SurveyMonkey poll that found 58% of U.S. male workers believe all obstacles to gender equity have been eliminated.
American Families Being Ripped Apart“Please don’t take my mom from me!” Wrote 12-year-old Alexa to her Senator, Sherrod Brown of Ohio. Ashley, a fourteen-year-old Oregonian, also asked to stay home from school because she was worried mom wouldn’t be there by the time school was let out. The New Yorker shared these and other powerful stories from immigrant mothers who’ve either been deported or are awaiting deportation as result of the Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies. Heightened fears of deportation are causing some families to forego necessary medical visits, trips to the grocery store, or family engagements. Anti-sanctuary city laws, like Texas Senate Bill 4, are taking a serious toll on the emotional, physical, and mental well being of immigrant families. The Austin Chronicle reports that one high school boy saw his grades slip because he was too preoccupied scanning the news to make sure ICE hadn’t detained his family members in recent raids. Other students stopped attending altogether for fear of being approached by ICE at their schools.
Defining Family Can Be Problematic Although we live in the age of Modern Family, myths that American families look alike persist. Quite frankly, these misconceptions aren’t surprising in lieu of The U.S. Census Bureau's traditional definition of family: “A family is a group of two people or more (one of whom is the householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together." The New York Times reminds us that narrow definitions of family are nothing new and have been created for the benefit of two-parent, heterosexual married couples even though - recognized or not - families have existed in different forms throughout history. Here at the Better Life Lab, we believe that a family can be built through blood, love, or choice. The U.S. judicial system, however, sees it differently. The legal ramifications of such narrow definitions unravel across issues from LGBTQ rights to immigration. Within the context of the 2017 travel ban, the U.S. Department of State issued guidelines to define family relations as spouses, parents, parents-in-law, children, and siblings, excluding grandparents, aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces, and brothers- and sisters-in-law. These guidelines were met with backlash from states and as a result, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ruling from a District Court in Hawaii, that broadened the list of exemptions to include grandparents and other close relatives of those living in the U.S.
Let’s Talk Fatherhood Recently the media has been acknowledging the importance placed on father-child relationships, which can have just as significant an impact on child wellbeing as mothers. The Institute for Family Studies dispels common myths around mothers being “better fit” as nurturers or caregivers. In fact, multiple studies confirm that men who have close physical contact with their infant show changes in body chemistry similar to women’s hormonal changes that facilitate adult-infant bonding. As children get older, the impact a father’s relationship has on a child does not diminish. A series of letters between our very own Elizabeth Weingarten and her father about father-daughter dances highlight the importance placed on a father’s presence early in life. Historically, these dances may have been established to celebrate a parent “who wasn’t around as much.” While the father-dance is sometimes criticized for not being inclusive of non-nuclear family arrangements and gender roles, Weingarten and her father agree that celebrating a father-daughter relationship shouldn’t diminish the specialness of other familial relationships and encourage a variety of events to celebrate familial bonds and gender roles.
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That's a wrap! We'll look forward to seeing your inbox again soon. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook — and suggest your best reads on living a better life! Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe here! About New AmericaNew America is dedicated to the renewal of American politics, prosperity, and purpose in the Digital Age. Our hallmarks are big ideas, pragmatic policy solutions, technological innovation, and creative engagement with broad audiences. Read the rest of our story, or see what we've been doing recently in our latest Annual Report. About the Better Life LabThe Better Life Lab is here to transform policy and culture so that people and families have the opportunity to live their best lives at work and at home. As a “lab,” we are dedicated to disruptive experiments, collaborative work, and innovative thinking. “Your Life, Better: News From the Better Life Lab” is our way to keep you in the know, featuring the best of what we’re reading and writing about gender equity, the evolution of work, and social policies that support 21st-century families. We provide a clear signal amid the noise to share what’s fresh and crucial to an inclusive vision of work-life, gender, and income equity issues. Better Life Lab Real choices. Real parity. All people.
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