ABSTRACT
Organizational change has been an overlooked dimension of international work-family
research. Although this field has carefully examined origins and patterns of work-family
policy across different national contexts, the frame is often limited to single moments in
time. In response, this paper emphasizes the importance of change to the dynamics of
work-family policies. First, rather than treating organizations (and households) as static
phenomena, I argue they are better conceptualized in terms of ongoing transformations
resulting from broader structural changes, both global and local. Second, although many
studies investigate the sources of work-family programs in organizations, I ask about
their long-term implications and specifically the extent to which they can be sustained in
the face of global changes (Glass and Estes, 1997). Finally, I examine the role that global
inequality plays in these processes. I will show how firms have varying abilities to
develop and maintain work-family policies as a consequence of the global hierarchies in
which they are embedded.
