Rigid work schedules, bias, scarce child care, unpaid caregiving leaves, little sick time. Policy analysts say these realities help explain U.S. women's sagging work-force participation.
In the wake of Barack Obama's nomination victory, female voters are expected to turn attention to the economy and scrutinize each party's position on pay equity, home mortgage foreclosures and extending jobless benefits.
Women pick up the majority of caregiving responsibilities and often lose time from work to care for the elderly. One area of relief comes from unions, which negotiate provisions for elder care services that benefit their growing female membership.
Women are adding sectors such as home health care, child care and nursing to union ranks, helping to revive organized labor after 25 years of membership declines tied to losses in male-dominated manufacturing.
Helping women gain financial strength while they transition away from their abusers is receiving a new focus from advocates who work with survivors of domestic violence.
In post-Taliban Afghanistan, filmmaker Sedika Mojadidi profiled her father's struggles as a doctor in a maternal ward in deplorable conditions. Her new film, “Motherland Afghanistan,” is an indictment of the neglect of maternal health issues.
Congress hasn't approved a final version of a minimum wage hike, yet some activists are pressing for living wage packages in the states that go even further. Local groups are lobbying for paid sick leave, improved health care and other benefits.