On the Fringe: Family-Friendly Benefits and the Rural-Urban Gap Among Working Women

This study drew on longitudinal, nationally representative data to estimate rural-urban inequality in women's access to family-friendly benefits. Multivariate fixed effects regression models showed that compared to urban women, rural women's odds of reporting access were 11 % lower for flexible work scheduling, 24 % lower for job-protected maternity leave, 13 % lower for paid sick time, 21 % lower for vacation time, and 20 % lower for health insurance. The rural-urban gap in sick time was explained by differences in unionization, as rural women were less likely to be unionized than urban women. Our findings suggest that rural women's work-family experiences may be more constrained than urban women's work-family experiences.