A recent study by AWP (Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community) uncovered an ironic reality: despite Judaism's emphasis on creating Jewish families, few Jewish workplaces are family-friendly. As Forward writer Gabrielle Birkner writes, although "women make up about three-quarters of the Jewish communal work force... few Jewish organizations have formal policies that guarantee access to paid maternity leave and flexible work arrangements - and fewer still offer paid paternity leave." Organizations that do offer paid paternal leave often make only a limited amount of time available to new parents - forcing them to make ends meet by using up vacation and/or sick days.
AWP's study revealed that only 35% of Jewish organizations surveyed offered a new mother time off with pay to care for a newborn, while only 7% offered 12 weeks or more of unpaid maternity leave. 10% of Jewish employers offer no leave at all, paid or unpaid and fewer than 30% of organizations have formal policies that would allow new parents to incorporate flexibility into their schedule. 227 Jewish organizations were surveyed in this study.
This reality - which undoubtedly puts additional strain on new parents - is surprising when you consider how often Jewish organizations talk about the importance of having children and creating a Jewish family. In the words of Shifra Bronznick, founding president of AWP:
"We're not cavalier about the strains organizations are under, but it's time for Jewish organizations to align their values with their behaviors...It's very important that it does not become about the benevolence, or lack of benevolence, of someone's supervisor... A lot of women are negatively affected by the perception of their supervisor that they are not serious about their work because they choose to have children and require maternity leave."
You can read more about this study on The Forward's website. What are your thoughts? Should Jewish workplaces be more-family friendly? For my part, the answer is a definitive yes. I would even go so far as to say that Jewish organizations are morally obligated to align their workplace policies with the Jewish values they try so hard to promote in the community at large.
For those of you who have children and have juggled the demands of work and parenthood, I'd love to hear about your experiences.
Photograph via Getty Images / Photographer Ian Spanier