By: Marleen A. O’Connor
This Article uses the lens of gender to examine the American
system of corporate governance. More particularly, this
Article promotes the discussion of how recent globalization,
economic transformation, and social revolution have influenced the
struggles of working families in the United States by destabilizing
family relationships. This new environment leaves little time
to invest in children and raises questions of how well today's
children will be prepared to cope with tomorrow's flexible work
environment.
Part I provides background by defining basic terms such as
"gender," "family," and "care." This Part also examines the
recent changes in work and family life and how they impact women
and men differently. Part II explains the idea that the
"caring" work that families perform needs to be recognized as an
important value in our corporate culture because families provide a
significant subsidy to the economy by producing human capital and
social capital. Part III examines the current work/family
programs that corporations have implemented and why workers take
advantage of such policies. This Part then discusses the topic
of work/family balance within the broader discussion about the
convergence of corporate governance systems.
Much turns on reshaping the corporate culture to accommodate the
change at home and the change at work. To this end, the ultimate
goal of this Article is to encourage other scholars in many fields
to reconceptualize the corporation's role in society to recognize
the family as a corporate stakeholder, thereby encouraging
increased corporate support for working families.