[Felice N.] Schwartz (1989) introduced the term "mommy track" to refer to an alternative career path that allows a mother flexible or reduced work hours, but at the same time tends to slow or block advancement. A newly coined phrase, the "daughter track", refers to a late-in-life version of the mommy track where women are leaving their jobs to care for their aging parents.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management … 39 percent of its members said in 2003 that elder care benefits were ''too costly to be feasible.'' Only 1 percent of their companies subsidized any elder care benefits last year. And only 3 percent offered the emergency backup care — subsidized or otherwise — that experts say saves money by keeping workers at work. …

It is the largest companies that are the most generous, but even those often subscribe to the mistaken notion that the Mommy Track and the Daughter Track are the same, said Chris Gatti, president of the Work Options Group in Superior, Colo. …

''These benefits fall under the same umbrella but are fundamentally different,'' Mr. Gatti said. ''Child care programs are relatively straight-forward and easy to administer compared to elder care, which is a maze with lots of sharp corners and dark secluded places.''

A vast majority of the employees questioned — 70 percent — admitted that taking care of elderly relatives or friends interfered with job performance.

Fifty-one percent of them said they felt increased tension on the job as a result of their responsibilities, the survey said. Forty-four percent also admitted to increased use of the telephone and that same percentage had to take more time off for emergencies, the survey said.

Fourteen percent said their productivity was affected, it said.

The survey found that women were more likely to shoulder responsibilities for caring for the elderly and take a so-called "daughter track" approach, in which their careers are slowed as they juggle work and parental care.