Introduction

Women are now a significant part of the workforce in the public sector. Women graduate with more masters and professional degrees  as compared to men (Guy, 2003; Kellerman and Rhode, 2012). Over 50% of women are working in the United States, but only a small number of women hold leadership positions. The public and private sector develop and implement policies to ensure the representation of women in different industries at different levels. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission helps reduce inequality in the workplace for that women and minorities. The Civil Service Commission also attempts to provide equal access to jobs for women and minorities.

There have been significant strides made in the recruitment, hiring, and retention practices that ensure a women’s ability to obtain and retain a job. Administrative practices and policies such as sexual harassment training, mentorships, maternity leave, Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and family friendly policies help women retain their positions. Although, many organizations have policies that help women balance their careers and family life many policies remain unused by female employees. Family friendly policies, designed to balance work and family life, may not be used because the organization’s culture does not support the use of the policies.  Moreover, employees using policies argue that using family friendly policies can be a barrier to advancement.

The issues of using family friendly policies can become problematic for women who hold leadership positions in an organization. Women are under-represented in leadership positions, in both the public and private sector. The federal government and academic institutions have researched the “glass ceiling” effect for many years. Recommendations to break the “glass ceiling “ include the promotions and using family friendly policies to help women advance their careers (Friedman and Greenhaus, Kellerman and Rhode, 2012).

Women with families are finding it more and more difficult to balance work and family life. Women in leadership roles have even more difficulty to balancing the demanding roles of a leader and a caretaker. Some women in leadership roles have decided to leave the workplace and return home to be a better caretaker. Organization’s that have a culture that supports the use of family friendly policies are more likely to have women in top leadership positions.