Job leaves and the limits of the Family and Medical Leave Act - The effects of gender, race, and family

This article examines the need for and use of leaves designated by the Fami ly and Medical Leave Act. using national data, we show that women parents, those with little income, and African Americans are particularly likely to perceive a need for job leaves. However iris married-not single-women and W hites who are particularly likely to fake such leaves. The authors suggest that this disjunction between need and use is a consequence of the construc tion of leave policy-that if provides for only short, unpaid leaves for a n arrow slice of workers and these politically constructed as "family"-and th e unresponsiveness of workplaces. These limits likely reinforce inequality based on gender; race, and family status.