Center for Families

The Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research is a partnership of the Center for Families at Purdue University, the Center for Work and Family at Boston College, and the Alliance of Work-Life Progress.

Over the past few decades there has been an explosion of research on the relationships between work and non-work life. Researchers studying these issues come from many disciplines and professions, resulting in fragmented awareness of one another's work. In addition, exchanges of research information among scholars, consultants and corporate practitioners are limited. Many research studies are not well-grounded in theory, slowing the generation of new knowledge. As a result, it has been difficult to develop shared standards for research quality and to avoid redundancies in the research literature. Some excellent studies have failed to have impact because of lack of awareness.

This award raises awareness of high quality work-family research among the scholar, consultant, and practitioner communities. It fosters debate about what the standards of quality for work-family research should be, and, ultimately, will raise those standards. And, it identifies the "best of the best" on which to base future research.

The award is named for Rosabeth Moss Kanter, who leading scholars have identified as the person with the most influence on modern work and family research literature. The proposals contained in her 1977 monograph, "Work and Family in the United States: A Critical Review and Agenda for Research and Policy," remain timely almost a quarter century later.

The Kanter award is given to the authors who publish the best work-family research article during a calendar year (note that "family" is broadly defined). No external nominations are accepted for the award. Instead, every article published in a large number of scientific journals is scrutinized by a large committee of esteemed scholars who generate a list of award candidates.