MEDIA CONTACT: Virginia Rutter Board Member Council on Contemporary Families In preparation for the Council on Contemporary Families’ 15th Annual Conference, Crossing Boundaries: Public and Private Roles in Assuring Child Well-Being, at the Crown Plaza Chicago Metro Hotel, April 27 and 28, 2012, the Council asked conference participants to submit short descriptions of recent research and best practice findings relevant to […]
Press Releases
Women’s Education and Their Likelihood of Marriage: A Historical Reversal
Experts: Stephanie Coontz
For most of the 20th century, women who completed higher education were far less likely to be married than their less-educated counterparts. Then in 2010, the Council on Contemporary Families (CCF) reported new research showing that although college-educated women were still more likely to never marry at all than women with lower educational levels, they were so much less likely to divorce that by age 40, a higher proportion of college-educated women were married than any other group.
Topics of Expertise: Couples Conflict, Separation & Divorce / Gender & Sexuality / Singles & DatingCCF Gender Revolution Symposium
Experts: Stephanie Coontz
In 1973 – less than 40 years ago — the Supreme Court ruled that sex-segregated employment ads were illegal. The next two decades saw massive, rapid action in eradicating old laws and prejudices. But now three researchers argue that progress toward gender equality has slowed or even stalled since the early 1990s.
In this CCF online symposium in time for International Women’s Day, David A. Cotter, Joan M. Hermsen and Reeve Vanneman present their discussion paper “Is the Gender Revolution Over?” and CCF fellows from around the United States offer a series of responses that add to this discussion.
Topics of Expertise: Feminism & Families / Gender & Sexuality / History & Trends on Gender, Marriage & Family Life / Race, Ethnicity & CultureInterracial Marriage Online Symposium
Experts: Stephanie Coontz
In a discussion paper prepared for the Council on Contemporary Families, based on his forthcoming book, “Is Marriage for White People? How the African American Marriage Decline Affects Everyone,” Stanford Law Professor Ralph Richard Banks challenges conventional responses to the black marriage decline and offers a provocative, demography-based recommendation for how Black women’s intermarriage can counteract the trend. Because Banks’ work is already stirring controversy, CCF has invited leading authorities on marriage, sexuality, and family life to offer commentary on his proposals.
Topics of Expertise: Biracial/ Multicultural Children and Interracial/ Multicultural Families / Race, Ethnicity & CultureCouncil on Contemporary Families Releases New Research on Moms’ Depression; Study Includes a Win-Win Finding for Working Moms AND Stay-at-Home Moms But Findings Pose a Challenge to Employers and Politicians
Mothers of young children face difficult decisions when it comes to employment. Some feminists warn that staying home leads to social isolation, increasing the risk of maternal depression. But many neo-traditionalists counter that employment increases women’s stress levels, leading to depression because of lost time with children or worries about child care. The question of whether working or staying home causes depression matters not just for the sake of mothers’ happiness, but for the well-being of children, since maternal depression is a risk factor for children. So it is important to know the findings of a new study: When it comes to mothers’ risk of depression, both these one-size-fits-all arguments miss the mark.
Topics of Expertise: Work & FamilyThe 100th Anniversary of Father’s Day: A Council on Contemporary Families Media Advisory
Experts: Deborah Carr / Robert-Jay Green
Fatherhood has changed dramatically since the inauguration of Father’s Day. While a father’s job was once primarily to “bring home the bacon,” dads are increasingly involved in all aspects of family life – reading to their kids, shuttling car pools, and offering a shoulder for the kids to cry on. Between 1965 and 2003, men tripled the amount of time they spent in child care. In honor of Father’s Day, here are some surprising and thought-provoking facts and figures about fatherhood today.
Topics of Expertise: Parenthood: Motherhood/FatherhoodMyths About College-Educated Women and Marriage
Experts: Betsey Stevenson / Stephanie Coontz
The marriage prospects of educated women have been hotly debated in the media in recent weeks. Are highly educated women more likely to wind up single than their less-educated counterparts? Would they do better to settle for a “good enough” man before they miss their chance altogether? Or are educated women now MORE likely to marry then their less-educated counterparts? But if so, do higher expectations make them more discontented with marriage?
Topics of Expertise: Gender & SexualityInternational Report Card on Parenting Policies: U.S. Gets a “Gentleman’s C”
By Rebecca Ray, Research Assistant Center for Economic and Policy Research Janet C. Gornick, Professor of Political Science and Sociology Graduate Center, the City University of New York John Schmitt, Senior Economist Center for Economic and Policy Research When it comes to giving fathers and mothers equal access to time off from work to care […]
Topics of Expertise: Child Welfare / Labor & Workforce / Work & FamilyMilitary Childcare: A Government Success Story
By Shelley MacDermid Director, Military Family Research Institute Purdue University shelley@purdue.edu; 765.496.3402 Thirty-eight percent of active-duty women and 44 percent of active-duty men have children. Yet in the 1980s, the military child care system was in shambles. The annual employee turnover rate was 300 percent, exposing soldiers’ children to the constant churn of new and […]
Topics of Expertise: Military FamiliesMarriage, Poverty & Public Policy
According to recent census figures, 6 percent of married couple families with children live in poverty, compared to 33 percent of families headed by single moms. To many, the conclusion seems obvious. Marry off those single moms and they reduce their risk of poverty by a factor of more than 5, right? Plus, their children […]
Topics of Expertise: TANF & Public Assistance