States' Political Cultures and the Family Policies They Enacted in the 1990s. What Difference Does It Make?

2003 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Shirley Zimmerman
Keyword(s):  
Family Policies ◽  
Political Cultures ◽  
The Family

Who Cares for the Family?

1978 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilary Land
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Domestic Workers ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Adult Men ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
Unpaid Labour ◽  
Maintenance Systems ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTAlthough Britain has never had a set of policies explicitly labelled ‘family policies’, most if not all social policies are implicitly family policies because they are based on certain assumptions about the nature of relationships between the sexes and the generations. By careful examination of the detail of the legislation and administrative rules, together with the way in which services are allocated and used, it is possible to expose these assumptions and show that they are not only consistent between policies but very persistent over time. This paper first examines the assumptions concerning the division of unpaid labour within the family whereby women care for the young, the sick and the old and for able-bodied adult men (their husbands). The examples are selected from a variety of income maintenance systems and services for children, the old and the disabled. Particular attention is focused on the extent to which it is recognized that women are at the same time workers in the labour market and unpaid domestic workers in the home. The second part of the paper analyses the impact on their participation and opportunities in the labour market of the ideology which accords to women the primary responsibilities for caring for other members of their family. The perpetuation of such an ideology favours the interests of men and frequently the interests of the economically powerful, but it is not assumed that these interests always coincide.

Specification and Speculation Concerning the Politics of Workplace Family Policies

1990 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 355-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOAN ALDOUS
Keyword(s):  
Labor Force ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Corporate America ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
The Family ◽  
Family Benefits ◽  
The U.S

The article begins with a discussion of the family changes related to shifts in the composition of the labor force that have led to a concern about family benefits in the workplace. It then covers the reasons for their general absence in the U.S. An analysis follows of the unrecognized consequences of the attention given to the comparatively few instances of family benefits in corporate America. The final section of the article concerns the varying judgments of the authors of the articles in this special issue on the efficacy of existing workplace family policies for businesses and their employees and their families.

scholarly journals Die Kernfamilie als Ideal. Zur Konstruktion von Scheidung und Nachscheidungsfamilien

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-84
Author(s):  
Ulrike Zartler
Keyword(s):  
Family Life ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Family Structures ◽  
Nuclear Families ◽  
Qualitative Survey ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
Living Together ◽  
Family Based

Against the backdrop of high divorce rates and changing concepts in the social sciences, the issue is addressed as to how children and families construct divorce and patterns of family life prior and subsequent to divorce. Based on an Austrian qualitative survey of 50 ten-year old children and their respective parents (n=71), it can be shown that divorce is predominantly constructed as a disintegration of the family. Based upon the dimensions of normalcy, complementarity and stability, nuclear families are being perceived as the most advantageous form of living together as a family. Whereas single-parent families are constructed as being both deficient and disadvantaged, stepfamilies are seen in a more positive light which, in turn, is due to the everyday presence of two parents in those families. These findings indicate that the interviewees orientate themselves along the lines of the model of disorganization, hierarchized ways of family life, and family concepts that are household-centered and focus primarily on family structures. Finally, the implications and repercussions of these findings for family policies and family research are being discussed. Zusammenfassung Vor dem Hintergrund hoher Scheidungsraten und veränderter sozialwissenschaftlicher Konzepte wird die Frage gestellt, wie Kinder und Eltern Scheidungen sowie familiale Lebensformen vor und nach einer Scheidung konstruieren. Basierend auf einer österreichischen qualitativen Befragung von 50 zehnjährigen Kindern und ihren Eltern (n= 71) zeigt sich, dass Scheidung überwiegend als Auflösung der Familie konstruiert wird. Kernfamilien werden, basierend auf den Aspekten Normalität, Komplementarität und Stabilität, als vorteilhafteste Lebensform wahrgenommen. Ein-Eltern-Familien werden als defizitär und benachteiligt konstruiert, während Stieffamilien aufgrund der alltäglichen Präsenz von zwei Elternpersonen positiver betrachtet werden. Die Ergebnisse verweisen auf eine Orientierung am Desorganisationsmodell, eine Hierarchisierung von Lebensformen sowie haushaltszentrierte und familienstrukturell fokussierte Konzeptionen. Auswirkungen und Implikationen dieser Ergebnisse für Sozialpolitik und Familienforschung werden diskutiert.

scholarly journals Changes in European Welfare State Regimes as a Response to Fertility Trends: Family Policy Perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 50
Author(s):  
Suzana Bornarova ◽  
Natasha Bogoevska ◽  
Svetlana Trbojevik
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Family Policy ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Fertility Rates ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Demographic Trends ◽  
Demographic Indicators ◽  
The Family ◽  
Employment Of Women

Following 1945, that is the Second World War, Europe faced a huge demographic increase in the number of births, known as baby-boom. Encouraged by the improvement of the living conditions after the devastating war, the return of the optimism, opening of the employment opportunities and the renewal of the idea about the family, this demographic trend entailed the so-called familism tide. In the mid 1960-ies however, demographic indicators in almost all European countries began to change suddenly. Massive development of contraception, increased birth control and family planning, as well as higher employment of women and their integration in the labour market, took place. As a result of these trends, in the 1970-ties European countries faced a considerable drop in fertility rates. This trend reached its peak during 1970-1980-ties when a dramatic drop in fertility rates took place, known as baby-bust. As a consequence, almost everywhere in Europe, the fertility rate dropped below the level needed for simple population reproduction or below 2.1 children per woman. Several related trends also contributed to the change in the demographic picture of Europe, such as: dropping birthrates, shrinking of the population, delay in births (increase in the age of birth of the first child), increase in the number of one-child families, as well as growth in the number of couples without children (universality of births is no longer present – at least 1 child per family). Similar trends are evidenced in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CIE), with one considerable difference – they took place around a decade later compared to the developed European countries. One common characteristic which shaped the demographic changes in CIE countries was the fact that they occurred simultaneously with the radical changes of the societal system from socialism towards democracy in the 1990-ties. Due to this, demographic changes in CIE countries gain in weight, are furthermore under the influence of the transitional processes and thus differ considerably compared to those in the developed countries. The differences are heavily attributable to two sets of factors: a) different institutional settings, especially in the family policies related to employment of women and child raising; and b) different effects of these family policies upon fertility rates and participation of women in the labour market. Given the above demographic trends, welfare states in Europe, adjust accordingly, predominantly through the policies and measures of family policy as one of the social policy domains. Following a detailed statistical analysis of demographic indicators in Europe, this paper will produce an analysis of the family policy responses to demographic trends based on the Esping-Andersens’ classification of welfare states: universal welfare states (Nordic countries); conservative welfare states (Continental European countries); liberal social states (Anglo-Saxon countries) and South-European social states (Mediterranean countries). A specific focus in the paper will be also given to the demographic trends and corresponding family policy developments in the Republic of Macedonia, as a country of South Europe. Cross-cutting issues in the analysis of the family policy models will be: the extent to which family policies are gender-neutral or gender-specific (are they women-friendly and do they promote active fatherhood?), measures for harmonization of work and family life (are women appropriately supported in performing their roles of mothers and active participants in the labour market at the same time) and the scope in which family policy is being designed to serve the purposes of population policy (how the concern and the interest of the state to increase fertility rates shapes family policy?).

scholarly journals THE EVOLUTION OF THE STATE FAMILY POLICY IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES: CHANGING PROBLEMS, PRIORITIES AND PRACTICES

2013 ◽  
pp. 291-302
Author(s):  
A. V. Noskova
Keyword(s):  
Family Life ◽  
Family Policy ◽  
Family Studies ◽  
The State ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
The Family ◽  
Xix Century ◽  
European Family

The paper describes some common peculiarities in evolution of the State family politics and policies in Europe since the middle of the XIX century to our days. Неге we define the family policy widely enough as the state activity (ideological, legislative, economic, social) concerning a family. The State family policy has four main dimensions such as demographical, social, gender and existential ones. The analysis of the long-term trends in European family policies made it possible to draw four main periods in its evolution. A set of the main problems, priorities and practices is defined for each period. The article also presents the links between the origin of every new period and the changing families, demographical and social realities. The first period (from the second half of the XIX century till the end of the 1940th) is described as the institutionalization of the European family policy. The main problem of this period is the demographic one. The links between the institutionalization of the European family policy and the changes in family life, demographic and social changes in the boundary of the XIX-XX centuries are shown. The second period (the 1950th) is characterized by the development of the social dimension as a part of the becoming European welfare state. In 1950-s, the main focus in family policies was made on the overcoming of the family poverty. The third period (the 1960th – the end of the 1980th) is characterized by a pluralization of the problems, strategies, measures of family policy under the influence of the differentiation of family structures and styles of family life. The fourth period (from the beginning of the 1990th to the present time) deals with reformatting of the conventional relations of the state and a family in the conditions of a new family, demographic, social and economic European context. The article presents the diversity of the family policy models in the European countries in their connection with the political and ideological factors. Special attention is paid to interdisciplinary scientific family studies which are directed to the practical solution of the modern family problems. It is noted that the European scientific centers for family studies and researches play a significant role in the scientific maintenance of European family policy.

Comparing the Family Policies of Three States: A Content Analysis

1989 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shirley L. Zimmerman ◽  
Phyllis Owens
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
The Family

scholarly journals The family working-time model: Towards more gender equality in work and care

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 471-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai-Uwe Müller ◽  
Michael Neumann ◽  
Katharina Wrohlich
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Working Time ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Time Model ◽  
Equal Distribution ◽  
Lump Sum ◽  
The Family ◽  
Working Time Model ◽  
The Impact

Since the millennium, the labour market participation of women and mothers is increasing across European countries. Several work/care policy measures underlie this evolution. At the same time, the labour market behaviour of fathers, as well as their involvement in care work, is relatively unchanging, meaning that employed mothers are facing an increased burden with respect to gainful employment and providing care. We propose a family working-time model that incentivizes fathers and mothers to both work in extended part-time employment. It provides a benefit in the form of a lump-sum transfer or income replacement for each parent if, and only if, both parents work 30 hours/week. Thus, it explicitly addresses fathers and – contrary to most conventional family policies – actively promotes the dual earner/dual carer paradigm. Combining microsimulation and labour supply estimation, we empirically analyse the potential of the family working-time model in the German context. The relatively small share of families already choosing the symmetric distribution of about 30 working hours would increase by 60 percent. By showing that a lump-sum transfer especially benefits low-income families, we contribute to the debate about redistributive implications of family policies. The basic principles of the model generalize to other European countries where families increasingly desire an equal distribution of employment and care. In order to enhance the impact of such a policy, employers’ norms and workplace culture as well as the supply of high-quality childcare must catch up with changing workforce preferences.

The Politics of the Family in Twentieth-Century Europe

2000 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Ginsborg
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
The State ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Authoritarian State ◽  
Family Politics ◽  
The Family ◽  
Twentieth Century Europe

This article aims to offer a first overview of family politics in twentieth-century Europe. The term ‘family politics’ is here taken to imply not just family policies – what states do for, or to, families – but, more broadly, the relations between individuals, families, civil society and the state. Four different visions of family politics, at different moments of the century, are analysed in detail: that of the Bolsheviks in the early years of the Russian Revolution; that of the great dictators (Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Franco) from the 1920s to the 1940s; that of Catholicism in the central decades of the century; and finally that of democracy, from 1945 onwards. It is argued that in each of these instances there emerges a strikingly different configuration of the relations in question (individual–family–civil society–state). For many of the Bolsheviks the family itself was the target of attack, while the individual was to be subsumed into a collectivised society. For the great dictators civil society was swiftly eliminated and the family was formally exalted, but the crucial relationships became those between the authoritarian state and regimented individuals. For the Catholic Church of Pius XII the principal menace to the Christian family was seen to come from the state on the one hand and individualism on the other; the family and an integrist society were to be the principal links of his chain. Democracy alone, albeit imperfectly, has held fast to all four elements, trying in different ways in different countries to strike a balance between them.

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