Since July 2005, the International Centre of Work and Family at the IESE Business School (ICWF) has developed a tradition of bringing together some of the leading scholars from around the globe in order to create a vision and build theory for the work-family field, with special attention for the cross-cultural dimension and the application of theory in an organizational context.

The III International Conference of Work & Family (ICWF) theme -"Harmonizing Work, Family and Personal Life in Times of Crisis"–  has been chosen to address the actual socio-economic context, and calls for papers that address the prevention and management of work-family conflict in times of personal and socio-economic turmoil. We are specifically interested in how individuals, couples, and organizations cope with adversity. Can companies be expected to cut back on work-life policies or on the contrary intensify efforts to retain scarce talent? How do individuals and couples cope with stress when their personal and professional responsibilities increase and vital resources come under threat?

The Family Watch is calling for thinkers, scholars and professionals in various fields for an impartial debate that will enable families to know how to support themselves more effectively, taking into account that the family is one of the institutions that provides a better society.

There was an alumni meeting on Wednesday, May 13th titled “Why lower our social capital? Social and legislative causes for their wobbly decline.” The event was presented by Professor Nuria Chinchilla, Director ICWF – The International Center for Work and Family at IESE. The first presenter was Raul Sánchez, Director of the Institute of Family Studies at the International University of Catalunya, which conducted a comprehensive and lucid study on the situation of families in Spain. Using data from recent surveys, the study concluded that “if we want to guarantee a stable society for the future and a future for our children, it is important to understand what is happening to marriage and how we can strengthen it so that the family can produce the social capital that we need.”