Cornell-sponsored conference in Italy looks at global work-life issues

By Kathleen Geier

Scholars, activists and government officials from around the world recently gathered together for a Cornell-sponsored conference on "Gross Domestic Product vs. Quality of Life: Balancing Work and Family." The event, funded by the Rockefeller and Ford foundations, took place at the Bellagio Study and Conference Center in Bellagio, Italy, from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2. Taking part were 26 participants from 14 countries, ranging from France and Finland to India and New Zealand.

Bellagio conference participants meet Jan. 31 in a session titled "A Workable Balance: Women's Paid Work in the New Economy" in the main conference room in the center's villa. Pictured, from left, are: Konstanze Plett, professor at the University of Bremen, Germany; Maria Tomé, lecturer at the Portuguese Catholic University Law School; Francine Moccio, director of the Institute for Women and Work; Betty Friedan, author and Cornell distinguished visiting professor; Diane Perrons, senior lecturer at the London School of Economics; and William D. Salter, senior adviser at the International Labor Organization. Institute for Women and Work

The conference was sponsored by the Institute for Women and Work at Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) and co-sponsored by the Feminism and Legal Theory project at Cornell Law School. Undergraduate ILR interns were heavily involved in organizing the conference. Particularly significant was their work in organizing the Washington, D.C., preconference event Dec. 6, 2000.

Organizers said they feel that the conference achieved its goals, and they said they came away with more than they anticipated. "By coming together, we have identified similarities and differences in our experiences with globalization," said Francine Moccio, conference co-chair and director of the Institute for Women and Work. "We recognize how great the need is for a transatlantic learning community on work/life balance. Beyond that, the issue of work and family balance reflects a deep need for a society that justly allocates its resources."

"It gives me a goose-flesh feeling, a frisson of excitement, because something is happening here that is real and new," said co-chair Betty Friedan, noted author and Cornell distinguished visiting professor. "At last we're getting beyond a reactive mode, beyond equality with men."

Friedan was referring to the conference's focus, which looked at the impact the new economy and policies like deregulation and privatization have had on working families. She explained: "Equality with men is absolutely necessary but not sufficient. Finally we have begun to define some basic measures for quality of life and new terms of success for individuals, institutions and communities. That's the next step of women's progress."

Participant Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children's Defense Fund, said she learned "a lot" during the conference. She told her fellow participants: "We hope that we can take what you shared with us and apply it in America, because most of your countries are ahead of us, so in that sense we're trying to catch up with you."

An opening plenary session identified contradictions and anxieties experienced by individuals, families and communities as they confront new challenges posed by globalization.

"Balancing work and family has become the rallying cry of our time," Moccio noted, "and it's reflective of deep but somewhat submerged changes. The global economy draws increasing numbers of women into the workplace, resulting in fewer women performing their traditional roles as caregivers and volunteers in the community. Now, scholars, activists, unions and employers are drawn into the debate on how we as a society should respond."

Discussions were lively and provocative. Noting that the European Union was considering extending the length of maternity leave, University of Warsaw Professor Renata Siemienska questioned whether this was truly beneficial to women. She argued that such a policy reinforces the idea that child care is women's work, thus making women less competitive in the labor market.

Diane Perrons of the London School of Economics concluded that, based on her research, the flexibility of the new economy was beneficial to some women, but Risa Lieberwitz, Cornell associate professor of labor law, argued that too often flexibility is gained at the price of security and of benefits such as health insurance. Friedan was critical of the American women's movement for focusing on abortion rights at the expense of such concerns as child care and economic issues. And participants disagreed as to what extent employers and/or government should be responsible for child care.

An important feature of the conference was the small-group "strategy sessions," in which participants worked together to develop general policy recommendations. The collective-bargaining group, chaired by New Zealand labor activist Maxine Gay, emphasized its support for union organizing, urged a combination of legislative and collective bargaining action to "promote quality of life and a balance between work and family" and called for a more democratically structured union movement with a strong international agenda.

Friedan's public-policy group called for a new social movement focused on a national child-care policy, laws that make part-time and contingent work a viable option through initiatives such as "wage and benefit parity between part-time and full-time workers" and social auditing policies that "hold corporations accountable to communities."

The corporate-culture group, led by William D. Salter of the United Nations' International Labor Organization, declared: "Life is more than work. Time is needed for family as well as other needs." The group voiced its opposition to "the long-hours culture" and gave its support for policies such as workplace flexibility, paid family leave and governmental incentives (such as tax credits) that support business initiatives to balance work and family.

A number of follow-up activities in the wake of the conference are in the works. There are plans to publish conference proceedings and an anthology of conference papers. Conference organizers are creating an international quality-of-life survey, and CNN.com has agreed to translate and post it on its various country web sites and report on results.

Participants also have committed to host focus group sessions in their respective countries, bringing issues raised at Bellagio to a wider range of scholars and decision-makers. The Swedish Prime Minister's office on Gender Equality already has agreed to host a follow-up session with European Union leaders, and the Institute for Women and Work will have follow-up meetings in Washington, D.C., and in New York City with the Children's Defense Fund, the European Trade Union Institute and New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's office.