an article by Kai-Uwe Müller, Michael Neumann and Katharina Wrohlich (German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), Germany) published in Journal of European Social Policy Volume 28 Issue 5 (December 2018)
Abstract
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.
Showing posts with label care_work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label care_work. Show all posts
Monday, 17 December 2018
Wednesday, 15 November 2017
Into a footnote: Unpaid care work and the Equality Budget in Scotland
an article by Jecynta Amboh Azong and Monika Wilińska (University of Stirling, UK) published in European Journal of Women's Studies Volume 24 Issue 3 (2017)
Abstract
This article analyses the visibility of unpaid care work in Scotland by examining the (non-)development of discourse on unpaid care work in economic policy documents.
Drawing on the problem approach to policy analysis, the article engages with the Equality Budget Statements (EBS) as policy documents that not only inform the government’s spending plans but are foremost statements of values and norms pursued by the government. This critical reading reveals that certain discourses give different meanings to women’s lives through the political significance of what remains unproblematized as part of the ensuing care discourse in Scotland.
The developing discourse on economic policy and equality suggests that equality in Scotland is presupposed on labour market participation. This shrinks discourse on unpaid care work; the problem of unpaid care work is silenced, while the problem of women’s access to employment is redefined to mean a problem of difference and costly childcare only.
The way certain issues have or have not appeared in governmental documents is explanatory of the importance and relevance of unpaid care work to the political discourse.
Abstract
This article analyses the visibility of unpaid care work in Scotland by examining the (non-)development of discourse on unpaid care work in economic policy documents.
Drawing on the problem approach to policy analysis, the article engages with the Equality Budget Statements (EBS) as policy documents that not only inform the government’s spending plans but are foremost statements of values and norms pursued by the government. This critical reading reveals that certain discourses give different meanings to women’s lives through the political significance of what remains unproblematized as part of the ensuing care discourse in Scotland.
The developing discourse on economic policy and equality suggests that equality in Scotland is presupposed on labour market participation. This shrinks discourse on unpaid care work; the problem of unpaid care work is silenced, while the problem of women’s access to employment is redefined to mean a problem of difference and costly childcare only.
The way certain issues have or have not appeared in governmental documents is explanatory of the importance and relevance of unpaid care work to the political discourse.
Monday, 24 December 2012
Parental leave regulations and the persistence of the male breadwinner model: Using fuzzy-set ideal type analysis to assess gender equality in an enlarged Europe
an article by Rossella Ciccia and Mieke Verloo (Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands) published in Journal of European Social Policy Volume 22 Number 5 (December 2012)
Abstract
This paper uses fuzzy-set ideal type analysis to assess the conformity of European leave regulations to four theoretical ideal typical divisions of labour: male breadwinner, caregiver parity, universal breadwinner and universal caregiver.
In contrast to the majority of previous studies, the focus of this analysis is on the extent to which leave regulations promote gender equality in the family and the transformation of traditional gender roles. The results of this analysis demonstrate that European countries cluster into five models that only partly coincide with countries’ geographical proximity.
Second, none of the countries considered constitutes a universal caregiver model, while the male breadwinner ideal continues to provide the normative reference point for parental leave regulations in a large number of European states.
Finally, we witness a growing emphasis at the national and EU levels concerning the universal breadwinner ideal, which leaves gender inequality in unpaid work unproblematized.
Abstract
This paper uses fuzzy-set ideal type analysis to assess the conformity of European leave regulations to four theoretical ideal typical divisions of labour: male breadwinner, caregiver parity, universal breadwinner and universal caregiver.
In contrast to the majority of previous studies, the focus of this analysis is on the extent to which leave regulations promote gender equality in the family and the transformation of traditional gender roles. The results of this analysis demonstrate that European countries cluster into five models that only partly coincide with countries’ geographical proximity.
Second, none of the countries considered constitutes a universal caregiver model, while the male breadwinner ideal continues to provide the normative reference point for parental leave regulations in a large number of European states.
Finally, we witness a growing emphasis at the national and EU levels concerning the universal breadwinner ideal, which leaves gender inequality in unpaid work unproblematized.
Friday, 12 October 2012
Converging variations in migrant care work in Europe
an article by Fiona Williams (University of Leeds and University of New South Wales, Australia) published in Journal of European Social Policy Volume 22 Number 4 (October 2012)
Abstract
While the employment of migrant women as care workers in European welfare states is increasing, the rate, extent and nature of this increase varies.
The article draws on empirical research on migrant care work to develop links between three levels of analysis – micro, meso and macro.
The main aim is to progress analysis of the meso level by developing indicators attached to three sets of régimes – care régimes, migration r&eactue;gimes and employment régimes.
It is argued that variations emerge in the ways these three régimes intersect within any one country. These intersections allow us to look across different sites, markets and sectors of care work and, in so doing, reveal a degree of growing convergence across Europe in the employment of migrant care labour. This convergence contributes, at the macro level, to a transnational political economy of care.
Abstract
While the employment of migrant women as care workers in European welfare states is increasing, the rate, extent and nature of this increase varies.
The article draws on empirical research on migrant care work to develop links between three levels of analysis – micro, meso and macro.
The main aim is to progress analysis of the meso level by developing indicators attached to three sets of régimes – care régimes, migration r&eactue;gimes and employment régimes.
It is argued that variations emerge in the ways these three régimes intersect within any one country. These intersections allow us to look across different sites, markets and sectors of care work and, in so doing, reveal a degree of growing convergence across Europe in the employment of migrant care labour. This convergence contributes, at the macro level, to a transnational political economy of care.
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