Federal family-friendly workplace policies

Women's work experiences continue to be characterized by metaphors such as glass ceilings, glass walls, sticky floors, and trap doors. To what extent to the implementation of flexible workplace policies and personnel practices improve women's work experience? This paper answers this question as it relates to the utilization of family-friendly workplace policies within federal cabinet-level departments. The paper examines how the Clinton administration's family-friendly initiatives are being operationalized in several departments, comparing and contrasting these efforts in varying settings. It is concluded that significant barriers remain to the widespread implementation of such policies.