The Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research

The Award and Selection Process

The Center for Families at Purdue University and the Boston College Center for Work & Family established the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award in 2000 to raise the awareness of high-quality work-family research among the scholar, consultant, and practitioner communities. The Kanter Award identifies the highest-quality research in this interdisciplinary field each year and is now among the most prestigious recognitions in the work-life field.

No applications or nominations are accepted for this award; instead, a panel of over 70 reviewers from more than a dozen countries examine all articles published in a given year in more than 80 leading English-language journals from around the world.

After finalists are determined by the review committee, members of the National Workforce Roundtable, (hosted by the Boston College Center for Work and Family) are asked to review the articles to identify which of the ‘best of the best’ studies has the greatest potential for impacting workplace practices.

National Workforce Roundtable members are human resources professionals representing some of the world’s leading employers and collectively more than 4 million employees. As the Kanter Award continues to partner with these employers, the awareness of high-quality work-family research continues to rise, and actionable findings from the best studies become more accessible business communities to inform policy and best practices.

The Center for Families at Purdue University

The Center for Families provides a way for faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of Purdue to help improve the quality of life for families. We serve as a catalyst to integrate outreach, teaching, and research activities that support families. We increase and enhance collaboration among academic disciplines, professionals, policymakers, corporations, and community organizations to bring about change focused on families. Find out more about the Center for Families.

Boston College Center for Work and Family

Founded in 1990, the Boston College Center for Work and Family is committed to enhancing the quality of life of today’s workforce by providing leadership for the integration of work and life, an essential for business and community success. We serve as a bridge between the worlds of academia and corporate practice, bringing together the world’s top scholars and thought leaders to influence organizational strategy and policy. Our learning and networking community, the Boston College Workforce Roundtable, brings together employers committed to excellence in work-life to shape responses to the demands of work, home, and community in order to enhance employee effectiveness. Find out more about the Center for Work and Family.

Honoring Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth

Shelley M. MacDermid Wadsworth is a distinguished professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science at Purdue University, where she also directs the Military Family Research Institute and is the Director Emerita of the Center for Families. Dr. MacDermid Wadsworth holds an M.B.A. in Management and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Human Development and Family Studies from The Pennsylvania State University. Her research focuses on relationships between job conditions and family life, with special focus on military families. Her research has been published in scientific outlets including the Journal of Marriage and Family and the Academy of Management Journal, and has been funded by a variety of federal, state, and philanthropic organizations. Dr. MacDermid Wadsworth is a fellow of the National Council on Family Relations, and a recipient of the Work Life Legacy Award from the Families and Work Institute and the Violet Haas Award for Leadership on behalf of women at Purdue University. Dr. MacDermid Wadsworth has served on federal advisory committees for the Department of Defense and the National Academy of Sciences and has testified in Congress regarding military and veteran families. In 2012, Dr. MacDermid Wadsworth received the Morrill Award from Purdue University in recognition of outstanding career achievements that have had an impact on society, and in 2016, Purdue University received the Kellogg Award from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities and the Higher Education Civic Engagement Award from the Washington Center in recognition of the work of the Military Family Research Institute.  In 2022, Dr. MacDermid Wadsworth was selected to receive the Ernest W. Burgess Award by the National Council on Family Relations in recognition of continuous and meritorious contributions to theory and research in the family field.

Recent Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award Recipients

2022: Elizabeth O. Ananat & Anna Gassman-Pines (2021). Work Schedule Unpredictability: Daily Occurrence and Effects on Working Parents’ Well-Being. Journal of Marriage and Family 81(1), 10-26. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12696

2021: Irene Padavic, Robin Ely & Erin Reid (2020). Explaining the persistence of gender inequality: The work–family narrative as a social defense against the 24/7 work culture. Administrative Science Quarterly, 65(1), 61-111. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839219832310

2020: Hannah Riley Bowles, Bobbie Thomason & Julia Bear (2019). Reconceptualizing what and how women negotiate for career advancement. Academy of Management Journal, 62(6), 1645-1671. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2017.1497

2019: Kate Weisshaar (2018). “From opt out to blocked out: The challenges for labor market re-entry after family-related employment lapses,” American Sociological Review, 83(1), 34-60. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122417752355

2018: Silke Aisenbrey and Anette Fasang (2017). “The interplay of work and family trajectories over the life course: Germany and the United States in comparison,” American Journal of Sociology, 122(5 ), 1448-1484. https://doi.org/10.1086/691128

2017: Courtright, S. H., Gardner, R. G., Smith, T. A., McCormick, B. W., & Colbert, A. E. (2016). My family made me do it: A cross-domain, self-regulatory perspective on antecedents to abusive supervision. Academy of Management Journal, 59, 1630-1652. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/amj.2013.1009

2016:  Gangl, M., & Ziefle, A. (2015). The making of a good woman: Extended parental leave entitlements and mothers’ work commitment in Germany. American Journal of Sociology, 121(2), 511-563. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/682419