Who benefits from work‐life programs? Lessons in gender and race from OPM's Federal Work‐Life Survey

Abstract

AbstractEngaging the US Office of Personnel Management's inaugural Federal Work‐life Survey (2017), this study deconstructs the gender and race differences in employee satisfaction with federal work‐life programs. We examine whether women of color employees in particular stand to benefit differently from the federal work‐life programs in comparison to their male and white colleagues. Notably, this study operationalizes the federal employee's work‐life interference and dependent care responsibilities to determine gender and race‐related differences in employee satisfaction with federal work‐life programs. Study results indicate that federal employees belonging to historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups are satisfied to a lesser extent with partaking in federal work‐life programs than their white counterparts.