History

The Center for Work-Life Policy has a long history of focusing on challenges and issues pertaining to the workplace. Originally the National Parenting Association, a non-profit research and advocacy organization founded in 1993, our aim was to encourage society to recognize the needs of working parents and their children. From conducting research to testifying before State legislatures to meetings at the White House, the NPA investigated the needs of parents and advocated for ways to help parents help their kids.

In 2004, we changed our name to the Center for Work-Life Policy (CWLP). CWLP has widened its scope through the Hidden Brain Drain Task Force--a private sector task force focused on helping corporations leverage their talent across the divides of gender, generation and culture. The Task Force is comprised of more than 60 global corporations and organizations representing 4 million employees in 190 countries.

Chaired by Sylvia Ann Hewlett, a well-known author and economist, the Center has seeded 100-plus new programs and policies across sectors to support the ambition, work and life needs of highly qualified women and minorities.

CWLP has also authored breakthrough studies such as: Off-Ramps and On-Ramps: Keeping Talented Women on the Road to Success (2005), Leadership in Your Midst: Tapping the Hidden Strengths of Minority Executives(2005), Extreme Jobs: The Dangerous Allure of the 70-Hour Workweek (2006), The Athena Factor: Reversing the Brain Drain in Science, Engineering, and Technology (2008), Bookend Generations: Leveraging Talent and Finding Common Ground (2009), Off-Ramps and On-Ramps Revisited" (2010), Off-Ramps and On-Ramps Germany (2010), The Battle for Female Talent in Emerging Markets (2010) and sister publications on women in India (2010) and China, (2011) and The Sponsor Effect: Breaking Through the Last Glass Ceiling (2010).