When life happens: Parental leave, part-time schedules, and flexible workplace strategies

In the United States, women make up approximately 50% of medical students, 35% of radiation oncology residents, and 28% of radiation oncology faculty. Increased numbers of women in the field, coupled with a recent interest in promoting work-life balance, has led to an increase in flexible workplace practices. Flexible workplace practices allow for parental or familial leave, part-time and work-from-home scheduling as well as other creative policies to promote work-life balance and to allow for familial and domestic responsibilities outside of the workplace.