scholarly journals Recent reforms in French and German family policies: similar challenges, different responses

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanne Fagnani ◽  
Antoine Math
Keyword(s):  
Parental Leave ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Male Breadwinner ◽  
The Family ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Employment Rates ◽  
Paradigmatic Change ◽  
Work Family ◽  
Gradual Approach

This article investigates whether the recent reforms introduced in the family policies of both France and Germany are leading the two countries towards some measure of convergence. Germany has favoured dramatic changes, especially a new parental leave allowance, while France, for its part, has chosen a more gradual approach that has translated into an enhancement of its promotion of work-family reconciliation policies along with steady increases in spending related to childcare provision over the last decade. Despite a rise in its overall supply of childcare Germany still lags far behind France in this domain, a phenomenon that can be partially explained by a combination of institutional obstacles, the persistence of social norms governing childcare for under-3s, and excessive demand. We argue that the main drivers for paradigmatic change in Germany have been concerns over the consequences of declining fertility; a shortfall of qualified workers; and, the shattering of certitudes following an OECD study on childhood education. In France reforms in parental leave policies have been more incremental with, for example, mothers being encouraged to retain their links to the workforce even while on leave. But while the reforms adopted by Germany represent a radical departure from the former ‘male-breadwinner model’, mothers’ employment rates remain lower than in France and German mothers work part-time with much greater frequency than their French counterparts.

scholarly journals Both Parents Working: Challenges and Strains in Managing the Reconciliation of Career and Family Life in Dual-Career Families. Empirical Evidence from Austria

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerlinde Mauerer
Keyword(s):  
Parental Leave ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Gender Inequalities ◽  
Dual Career ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Family Work ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Male Breadwinner

The presented empirical data analysis aims to shed light on the persistence of gender inequalities in sharing parenting responsibilities and addresses possible improvements for realising gender equality. In recent decades, family policies in the European Union have targeted the increase of men’s shares in parental leave (= paternal leave) as well as women’s participation in the labour market. Following the results of the Lisbon Treaty in 2000, many EU member states including Austria introduced non-transferable fathers’ quotas in their regulations on parental leave. Subsequently, the share of men on parental leave increased. Nevertheless, both in number and duration, men’s childcare allowance claims have remained lower than women’s claims. This paper investigates shared parental leave practices based on 36 interviews with fathers on paternal leave, and 14 follow-up interviews with parents after paternal leave. The qualitative data reveal the challenges that arise when both parents are faced with reconciling work and family during and after parental leave. Although the data showed that progress has been made in reducing gender inequality, the interviews make clear that employers’ attitudes perpetuate traditional gendered expectations of parental leave claims and still focus on images of a male breadwinner. Also, the distribution of gainful and family work reveals gender inequalities. The paper therefore discusses challenges that arise in the realisation of current gender and family policies in order to provide a basis for making changes that further enhance the opportunities for dual-career couples within the organisation of parental leave laws.

scholarly journals Ideational struggles over women’s part-time work in Norway: Destabilizing the gender contract

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 1018-1038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lilja Mósesdóttir ◽  
Anne Lise Ellingsæter
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Female Employment ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Public ◽  
Male Breadwinner ◽  
Time Work ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Employment Rates ◽  
High Level ◽  
Part Time Work

High rates of part-time work have been associated with high female employment rates in the Nordic countries, except for Finland. Part-time work has played a key role in the modification of the male breadwinner gender contract by enabling women to enter paid work while continuing to take on the main domestic responsibilities. Previously tacit and little disputed, this ‘normalization’ of women’s part-time work has increasingly become a contentious issue in the public debate in Norway, both in terms of its persistently high level and of the cultural values surrounding it. In their case study, the authors analyse the articulation of these critiques and the underlying conflict dynamics that put the gender contract under pressure and facilitate its modification. The empirical focus is on events inciting debates and the arguments or ideational frames key political actors have used to support their position. The analysis is based on newspaper articles published during the period 1997–2013.

scholarly journals How can we become more equal? Public policies and parents’ work–family preferences in Germany

2021 ◽  
pp. 095892872110357
Author(s):  
Mareike Bünning ◽  
Lena Hipp
Keyword(s):  
Parental Leave ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Working Parents ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Time Position ◽  
Work Family ◽  
Employed Parents ◽  
The Right ◽  
Policy Setting

This study examines how public policies affect parents’ preferences for a more egalitarian division of paid and unpaid work. Based on the assumption that individuals develop their preferences within a specific policy context, we examine how changes in three policies affect mothers’ and fathers’ work–family preferences: the availability of high-quality, affordable childcare; the right to return to a full-time job after having reduced hours to part-time and an increase in the number of ‘partner months’ in parental leave schemes. Analysing a unique probability sample of parents with young children in Germany from 2015 ( N = 1756), we find that fathers would want to work slightly fewer hours if they had the right to return to a full-time position after working part-time, and mothers would want to work slightly more hours if childcare opportunities were improved. Full-time working parents, moreover, are found to prefer fewer hours independent of the policy setting, while non-employed parents would like to work at least some hours. Last but not least, our analyses show that increasing the number of partner months in the parental leave scheme considerably increases fathers’ preferences for longer and mothers’ preferences for shorter leave. Increasing the number of partner months in parental schemes hence has the greatest potential to increase gender equality.

Does social investment make the labour market ‘flow’? Family policies and institutional complementarities in Italy, Spain, Japan and South Korea

2021 ◽  
pp. 129-166
Author(s):  
Ijin Hong ◽  
Jieun Lee
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Female Employment ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Context Sensitive ◽  
Employment Rates ◽  
Work Family

This chapter investigates whether social investments improve labour market flow by focusing on work–family reconciliation policy and women's labour market participation. It provides an overview on which institutional configurations one should consider to understand how the labour market flows during women's life cycles. The chapter then analyses Italy, Spain, Japan and South Korea and their institutional configurations. By investigating social investment latecomers in East Asia (Japan and Korea) and Southern Europe (Spain and Italy), the chapter reveals that social investment reform itself does not automatically lead to higher female employment rates, because the effectiveness of work–family reconciliation policy hugely depends on the institutional context. Ultimately, the chapter asserts that social investment strategies should be context-sensitive and tailored to different structural and institutional configurations if they are to be suitable and effective. It claims that, in order for social investment reform to be successful, complementary institutional reform is required.

Must We All Be Paradigmatic? Social Investment Policies and Liberal Welfare States

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 657-683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda A. White
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Employment ◽  
Parental Leave ◽  
Investment Strategy ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Investment Policies ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
The Family ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Policies And Programs

Abstract.This article examines whether current shifts in government spending on early childhood education and care (ECEC) and maternal employment-promoting policies such as maternity and parental leave reveal a paradigm shift toward a social investment strategy in liberal welfare states. It finds that while governments in liberal welfare states increasingly adhere to the rhetoric of social investment focused on lifelong learning and labour activation, their policies and programs exhibit so much variation in goals, instruments and settings related to the family, maternal employment and the child that it is difficult to claim that any new policy approach has taken hold that is indicative of a social investment “paradigm.” Instead, liberal welfare states appear to be becoming even more liberal—in terms of reliance on markets for delivery of social investment goals—at the same time as spending is increasing.Résumé.Cet article examine si les changements actuels des dépenses de gouvernement sur la première éducation d'enfance et le soin (ECEC) et les politiques promouvant emploi maternelles comme la maternité et le congé parental révèlent un changement de paradigme vers une stratégie sociale d'investissement dans les Etats-providences libéraux. Il constate que pendant que les gouvernements dans les Etats-providences libéraux adhèrent de plus en plus à la rhétorique d'investissement social s'est concentré sur l'apprentissage de toute une vie et l'activation de la main-d'œuvre, leurs politiques et programmes exposent tant de variation dans les buts, les instruments et les cadres rattachés à la famille, l'emploi maternel et l'enfant qu'il est difficile de réclamer que n'importe quelle nouvelle approche de politique a attrapé qui est indicatif “d'un paradigme” social d'investissement. Au lieu de cela les Etats-providences libéraux ont l'air de devenir encore plus libéraux – du point de vue de la dépendance aux marchés pour la livraison de buts sociaux d'investissement – en même temps comme les dépenses augmentent.

scholarly journals Kobiety na szwedzkim rynku pracy - uwarunkowania wysokiej aktywności zawodowej i wyzwania na przyszłość

2015 ◽  
pp. 193-225
Author(s):  
Hanna Kądziela
Keyword(s):  
Parental Leave ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Private Life ◽  
Pay Gap ◽  
Cultural Attitudes ◽  
Raising Children ◽  
The Family ◽  
Time Work ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Employment Of Women

For many years Sweden remained a world leader in the employment of women, regardless of their age and responsibilities associated with raising children or caring for the elderly. This article analyses three groups of factors that influence the effectiveness of the Swedish policy in this regard: 1) strategic, i.e. the consistent and coherent policy on equal opportunities for women and men and the reconciliation of work and private life, 2) cultural attitudes and preferences that shape the behaviour of individuals in the family and on the labour market, and 3) institutional, particularly care of dependent persons. The picture would be incomplete, however, without looking at the problems remaining to be solved in such areas as high proportion of women in part-time work, the pay gap or insufficient interest of men in using parental leave.

scholarly journals How can we become more equal? Public policies and parents’ work-family preferences in Germany

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mareike Bünning ◽  
Lena Hipp
Keyword(s):  
Parental Leave ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Working Parents ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Time Position ◽  
Work Family ◽  
Employed Parents ◽  
The Right ◽  
Policy Setting

This study uses Sen’s (1985) “capabilities framework” to examine how public policies affect parents’ preferences for a more egalitarian division of paid and unpaid work. Based on the assumption that individuals develop their preferences within a specific policy context, we examine how changes in three policies affect mothers’ and fathers’ work-family preferences, namely, the availability of high-quality, affordable childcare, the right to return to a full-time job after working part-time, and an extension of “partner months” in parental leave schemes. Analyzing a unique probability sample of parents with young children in Germany, we find that, on average, fathers would want to work slightly fewer hours if they had the right to return to a full-time position after working part-time, and mothers would want to work slightly more hours if childcare opportunities were improved. Our analyses, however, also show that full-time working parents have preferences for shorter hours and that non-employed parents would prefer longer hours independent of the policy setting. Last but not least, we find that increasing the number of partner months in the parental leave scheme considerably increases fathers’ preferences for longer and mothers’ preferences for shorter periods of parental leave. Our main conclusion is that extending the number of partner months in parental schemes has the greatest potential to increase gender equality.

scholarly journals EU work-family policies revisited: Finally challenging caring roles?

2020 ◽  
pp. 203195252096661
Author(s):  
Michelle Weldon-Johns
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Care ◽  
Classification Model ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Ideal Types ◽  
Parental Roles ◽  
The Family ◽  
Work Family ◽  
The Eu ◽  
The Ideal

In 2013 Weldon-Johns used the work-family typology classification model (WFTCM) to analyse the development of EU work-family policies. That examination showed that EU work-family legislation continued to focus on maternal care and was underpinned by the extended motherhood typology. In 2019, the Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers Directive 2019/1158 was passed, implementing key changes to the EU framework. This article takes this as an opportunity to reflect on the current EU approach. In doing so, it revisits the WFTCM and expands the ideal types to include the shared parental roles typology and redefine the family typology. This analysis shows that while some advances have been made, gendered assumptions surrounding care remain, as does the presumption in favour of childcare. Instead of the Directive fulfilling its potential to challenge caring roles, it is likely that they will continue to be reinforced, although there are some hopes for the future.

scholarly journals IOs’ Role in Global Social Governance: Family Policy

2021 ◽  
pp. 187-206
Author(s):  
Rianne Mahon
Keyword(s):  
Family Policy ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
The North ◽  
Social Governance ◽  
Male Breadwinner ◽  
The Family ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Care Economy ◽  
Work Family ◽  
North And South

AbstractThis chapter focuses on family policy as an object of global social governance. From the 1990s to 2008, the family policy field was bifurcated. One part, focused on family norms in the North, followed the shift from the male breadwinner to the adult earner family with its work-family tensions. Here the main IOs were the ILO and the OECD. The second part focused on the South and policies targeting children in poor families. Although UNICEF clearly played an important role on the ground here, it was the World Bank that took the lead in elaborating and disseminating the core ideas. Since the 2008 crisis, the field has come together through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which simultaneously address both North and South. The dominant discourse is ‘inclusive growth’, challenged by the more critical discourse on the ‘care economy’.

Toward Thriving Families

2020 ◽  
pp. 213-226
Author(s):  
Maxine Eichner
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Family Policy ◽  
Parental Leave ◽  
Free Market ◽  
The United States ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Employment Rates ◽  
Paid Parental Leave ◽  
The Many

This chapter addresses three concerns that might arise when considering whether to adopt pro-family policies. First, it assesses whether adopting pro-family programs will make our economy less competitive. In answer, it demonstrates that countries that have adopted pro-family policies have experienced as much or more growth in GDP per hour worked in the last decades as the United States has. Furthermore, the employment rates in countries that have adopted pro-family policy are actually higher than our own. Second, the chapter considers whether the costs of pro-family programs, including paid parental leave, child benefits, and universal daycare and prekindergarten, would be prohibitively high. It demonstrates that the additional costs of pro-family programs could be readily absorbed either simply by shifting existing total social welfare spending to spend more on children publicly without paying a penny more overall or by raising taxes in a manner that placed no added burden on middle- and low-income families. Third and finally, the chapter considers whether pro-family policy would stifle Americans’ freedom. Free-market proponents who equate unregulated capitalism with freedom, this section shows, overlook the many ways that market pressures are increasingly constraining Americans’ lives.

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