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Dotti Sani, Guliana Maria (2018): The economic crisis and changes in work - family arrangements in six European countries. In: Journal of European social policy, Jg. 28, H. 2, S. 177-193. DOI:10.1177/0958928717700566

Abstract

"Over the past decades, there has been a substantial increase in female labour force participation, and the number of dual-earner and female-earner households has risen throughout western countries. However, the recent economic crisis has caused large losses in employment for both women and men, potentially yielding unexpected consequences for the evolution of work - family arrangements. This article carries out a comparative analysis of the relationship between the 2008/2009 economic crisis and work - family arrangements in Europe. Using data for six countries from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, this article fills a gap in the literature by addressing three issues: (1) whether work - family arrangements have changed from before to after the beginning of the economic downturn in countries with different gender and welfare regimes (Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Sweden and the United Kingdom), (2) whether changes in work - family arrangements have occurred at different levels of the social strata and (3) whether couples have moved from dual-earner to male- or female-breadwinner. The results indicate changes in work - family arrangements in those countries worst hit by the economic crisis, Greece and Spain, where dual-earner and male-breadwinner households have decreased and no-earner and female-main-earner households have increased. Moreover, the results show that in these two countries, all social strata - proxied through women's level of education - have been affected by the crisis. In contrast, only moderate changes in work - family arrangements among all women can be observed in countries less hit by the economic downturn. The findings for the two southern European countries are troubling, as the increases in no-earner and female-breadwinner households point to worsening economic conditions throughout the population and to a halt in the process that for several decades had been leading to more equality in the distribution of employment between genders." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Evertsson, Marie, Katarina Boye & Jeylan Erman (2018): Fathers on call? A study on the sharing of care work between parents in Sweden. In: Demographic Research, Jg. 39, S. 33-60. DOI:10.4054/DemRes.2018.39.2

Abstract

"Background: Swedish fathers' parental leave uptake has increased over time, but progress has been moderate. In relation to this, we ask what factors hinder or facilitate the taking of leave by fathers and how - if at all - the leave influences the father's relationship with his child.
Objective: To study (i) the reasons for parents' division of parental leave as well as the consequences this division has for their actual time at home with the child and (ii) the link between the father's leave and his relationship with the child, as well as the parents' division of childcare after parental leave.
Methods: A multi-methods approach is used, where OLS regression models of survey data from the Young Adult Panel Study are analysed alongside qualitative in-depth interviews with 13 couples who have had a first child.
Results: Quantitative results show that parents' leave lengths vary with the reasons given for the division of leave and that fathers' parental leave is related to long-term division of childcare. Qualitative results suggest that equal parenting is important to the interviewed parents; however, motherhood ideals may stand in the way of achieving it. Several mechanisms by which fathers' parental leave may influence later division of childcare are suggested, including the development of a closer relationship between father and child.
Conclusions: Policies aimed towards increasing fathers' parental leave uptake have the potential to strengthen the father - child bond, contribute to a more equal division of childcare, and facilitate both parents' understanding of each other and what being a stay-at-home parent involves.
Contribution: This article is the first to show how parents alleged reasons for the parental leave links to the actual length of the mother's and father's leave. Results indicate that increasing paternal leave length is linked to improved couple relationship quality and a closer relationship with the child." (Author's abstract, © Max-Planck-Institut für demographische Forschung) ((en))

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Evertsson, Marie & Katarina Boye (2018): The transition to parenthood and the division of parental leave in different-sex and female same-sex couples in Sweden. In: European Sociological Review, Jg. 34, H. 5, S. 471-485. DOI:10.1093/esr/jcy027

Abstract

"Research on the division of paid and unpaid work at the transition to parenthood has rarely been able to separate the social construction of gender and motherhood/fatherhood identities from labour market and financial factors. By bringing in female same-sex couples (SSC) and comparing how the transition to parenthood influences the division of parental leave in SSC and different-sex couples (DSC), we can isolate parents' gender as a predictor of the division of care from physiological and identity-forming aspects linked to being a birth-mother (or her partner). Analysing Swedish register data for couples who had their first child in 2003-2011, results show that (i) the (birth) mother's leave uptake is higher than the partner's uptake for both SSC and DSC, providing support for identity formation and internalized norms linked to the child's need of its (birth) mother; (ii) birth-mothers in SSC on average take 7 weeks less parental leave than mothers in DSC, indicating that the partner's gender plays a role; and (iii) the (birth) mother's parental leave share is negatively related to her income but unrelated to her partner's income, suggesting that her labour market prospects are more important in the division of leave than any financial, family-utility maximization." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Neumann, Emma (2018): Source country culture and labor market assimilation of immigrant women in Sweden. Evidence from longitudinal data. In: Review of Economics of the Household, Jg. 16, H. 3, S. 585-627. DOI:10.1007/s11150-018-9420-6

Abstract

"This paper analyzes the role of source country culture on gender roles for labor market assimilation of immigrant women in Sweden. Sweden ranks as one of the world's most gender-equal countries and at the same time a recipient of many immigrants from countries with more traditional views on gender roles and gender equality. I find that the labor force participation of immigrant women in Sweden is related to their source country culture, in the sense that women from countries where women's labor market participation is low (high) also have low (high) participation in the Swedish labor market. However, all immigrant women assimilate towards, but do not reach parity with, the participation rate of native women, and the difference between women from high- and low-participation countries diminishes with length of residence in Sweden. This indicates that source country culture on gender roles does not have a persistent effect on immigrant women's labor market participation in Sweden. Furthermore, the results highlight the importance of taking into account unobservable time-constant individual and source country factors when estimating the relationship between source country culture and immigrants' labor market outcomes. Neglecting to control for these factors could lead researchers to misrepresent the rate of assimilation and overstate the effect of source country culture." (Author's abstract, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Stier, Haya, Noah Lewin-Epstein & Michael Braun (2018): Institutional change and women's work patterns along the family life course. In: Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Jg. 57, H. October, S. 46-55. DOI:10.1016/j.rssm.2018.07.001

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Sundsbø, Astrid O. (2018): Parenting support in Europe's North. How is it understood and evaluated in research? In: Social policy and society, Jg. 17, H. 3, S. 431-441. DOI:10.1017/S1474746418000027

Abstract

"Parenting support in the Nordic countries builds upon a century-long tradition of controls and services run by municipalities and county councils (Hagelund, 2008; Danielsen and Mühleisen, 2009; Lundqvist, 2015). However, with the introduction of structured parental guidance programmes from the 1990s onward (mainly based on research insights and experiences from the US and UK), new elements have been added to the former policy legacy (Lundqvist, 2015)." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Valarino, Isabel, Ann-Zofie Duvander, Linda Haas & Gerda Neyer (2018): Exploring leave policy preferences: a comparison of Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. In: Social Politics, Jg. 25, H. 1, S. 118-147. DOI:10.1093/sp/jxx020

Abstract

"This study analyses preferences regarding leave length, gender division of leave, and leave financing in four countries with different welfare-state and leave regimes. Embedded in a gender perspective, institutional, self-interest, and ideational theoretical approaches are used to explore the factors shaping individuals' preferences (ISSP 2012 data). Findings show dramatic cross-country differences, suggesting the institutional dimension is most strongly related to leave policy preferences. Self-interest and values concerning gender relations and state responsibility are also important correlates. The study identifies mismatches between leave preferences, entitlements, and uptake, with implications for policy reform and the gendered division of parenting." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Verniers, Catherine & Jorge Vala (2018): Justifying gender discrimination in the workplace. The mediating role of motherhood myths. In: PLoS one, Jg. 13, H. 1, S. 1-23. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0190657

Abstract

"The issue of gender equality in employment has given rise to numerous policies in advanced industrial countries, all aimed at tackling gender discrimination regarding recruitment, salary and promotion. Yet gender inequalities in the workplace persist. The purpose of this research is to document the psychosocial process involved in the persistence of gender discrimination against working women. Drawing on the literature on the justification of discrimination, we hypothesized that the myths according to which women's work threatens children and family life mediates the relationship between sexism and opposition to a mother's career. We tested this hypothesis using the Family and Changing Gender Roles module of the International Social Survey Programme. The dataset contained data collected in 1994 and 2012 from 51632 respondents from 18 countries. Structural equation modellings confirmed the hypothesised mediation. Overall, the findings shed light on how motherhood myths justify the gender structure in countries promoting gender equality." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Abstract

"Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, commonly known as the Nordic countries, have been leaders in the development of modern family and gender policy, and the explicit promotion of gender equality at home, at work, and in public life. Today, on many measures, they boast some of the most gender-equal labour markets in the OECD.
This report shows that improvements in gender equality have contributed considerably to economic growth in the Nordic countries. Increases in female employment alone are estimated to account for anywhere between roughly 0.05 and 0.40 percentage points to average annual GDP per capita growth - equivalent to 3 to 20% of total GDP per capita growth over the past 50 years or so, depending on the country.
The Nordic countries are closer than most to achieving gender equality in the labour market. But the last mile may well prove to be the longest one. To make further progress, a continued assessment of the effectiveness of existing public policies and workplace practices is needed. Only with resolve and a continued focus can Nordic countries ensure that men and women contribute to their economies and societies in gender equal measure." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Albrecht, Clara, Anita Fichtl & Peter Redler (2017): Fathers in charge? Parental leave policies for fathers in Europe. In: ifo DICE report, Jg. 15, H. 1, S. 49-51.

Abstract

"Despite the fact that most parental leave policies in European countries have also entitled men, take-up rates by fathers have been low. In turn, the traditional male breadwinner model has prevailed in the EU, even though the level of education of men and women has converged fully. At the same time, fathers do want to spend time with their newborn children (Huerta et al. 2013). A trend towards the implementation of parental leave policies for fathers - also known as 'daddy months' or 'daddy quotas' - has emerged. The potential goals of these policies are greater gender equality, both in the family and in the labour market, a better work-life-balance for families and stronger bonding between father and child. Encouraged by state regulations and the EU-Directive 2010/18/EU2 parental leave take-up rates have been rising over the past decade, but still remain low." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Andersson Joona, Pernilla (2017): Are mothers of young children more likely to be self-employed? The case of Sweden. In: Review of Economics of the Household, Jg. 15, H. 1, S. 307-333. DOI:10.1007/s11150-016-9349-6

Abstract

"Previous studies, mostly from Anglo-Saxon countries, find a positive correlation between the presence of young children in the household and self-employment probabilities among women. This has been seen as an indication of women with young children choosing self-employment as a way of balancing work and family commitments. This paper studies the relationship between children and female self-employment in a country with family friendly policies and a generous welfare system: Sweden. The initial hypothesis is that we will not find evidence of a positive effect of children on self-employment among Swedish women since there are other institutions in place aiming at facilitating the combination of work and family. Using Swedish register data for the period 2004 - 2008 we do, however, find that the presence of young children increases the probability of choosing self-employment also among Swedish women. The effect is strongest for women with very young children, 0 - 3 years of age. These results also hold in a panel data model that takes individual unobserved heterogeneity into account. We also analyze time-use data and find, contrary to what has been found in many other countries, that self-employed women spend more, or as much, time on market work than wage-earning women. This raises doubts about whether women in Sweden chose self-employment as a way of balancing work and family commitments." (Author's abstract, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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André, Christophe & Hugo Bourrousse (2017): Fighting gender inequality in Sweden. (OECD Economics Department working papers 1395), Paris, 31 S. DOI:10.1787/37b4d789-en

Abstract

"Sweden ranks among the best OECD countries in terms of gender equality. Women have a high employment rate, outperform men in education and are well represented in government and parliament. Nevertheless, without further policy measures, achieving parity is still a distant prospect in several areas. Wage differences between genders persist; women are under-represented on private company boards, in senior management positions, in many well-paid and influential professions and among entrepreneurs. Hence, there is scope to make further progress on gender equality. The share of the parental leave reserved for each parent should be increased further, as inequality in leave-taking and long parental leaves harm women's career prospects. Fighting stereotypes in education is necessary to improve women's access to professions where they are under-represented. Government programmes need to promote women's entrepreneurship further. Special attention should also be paid to the integration of foreign-born women, whose employment rate is much lower than for their male counterparts." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bergqvist, Christina & Steven Saxonberg (2017): The state as a norm-builder? The take-up of parental leave in Norway and Sweden. In: Social policy and administration, Jg. 51, H. 7, S. 1470-1487. DOI:10.1111/spol.12251

Abstract

"This study shows that although Norway and Sweden have rather similar family policies, the seemingly small differences that exist reflect different national ideals of care, and these differences encourage parents to employ different gendered moral rationalities. However, Sweden's ideal of 'equal-sharing/professional care', encourages fathers to take longer leaves than the Norwegian ideal of 'partial sharing plus choosing between professional or parental care'. Given their different national ideals of caring, different gendered moral rationalities emerge. While in Norway the dominant gendered moral rationality among our interviewees is 'man-doing-his-duty', in Sweden two different rationalities arise: the 'breastfeeding-plus-sharing' rationality and the 'male-opt-out'. This conclusion is based on 60 interviews with mothers and fathers in Oslo and Stockholm." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Boye, Katarina, Karin Halldén & Charlotta Magnusson (2017): Stagnation only on the surface? The implications of skill and family responsibilities for the gender wage gap in Sweden, 1974 - 2010. In: The British journal of sociology, Jg. 68, H. 4, S. 595-619. DOI:10.1111/1468-4446.12252

Abstract

"The wage differential between women and men persists in advanced economies despite the inflow of women into qualified occupations in recent years. Using five waves of the Swedish Level-of-Living Survey (LNU), this paper explores the gender wage gap in Sweden during the 1974 - 2010 period overall and by skill level. The empirical analyses showed that the general gender wage gap has been nearly unchanged for the past 30 years. However, the gender difference in wage in less qualified occupations fell considerably, whereas the gender pay gap remained stable for men and women in qualified occupations. The larger significance of family responsibilities for wages in qualified occupations is one likely explanation for this result." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Castellano, Rosalia & Rocca Antonella (2017): The dynamic of the gender gap in the European labour market in the years of economic crisis. In: Quality and Quantity. International Journal of Methodology, Jg. 51, H. 3, S. 1337-1357. DOI:10.1007/s11135-016-0334-1

Abstract

"Closing the gender gap in the labour market is one of the main goals of European Union and part of a wider effort to eliminate social inequalities. In recent decades, all developed countries have suffered a deep global economic crisis, that has increased social and economic inequalities. In Europe, the crisis involved problems of European stability and growth, but the crisis did not affect the euro-area countries to the same extent, and the consequences and recovery were correspondingly asymmetrical. In this paper, we analyse the changes that occurred in the gender gap in the European labour markets from 2007 to 2012 to understand if the recession has further increased or reduced the gender differentials. At this aim, we combine the use of two different statistical methodologies. Through the composite indicator methodology, we test how the rank of countries in relation to gender equality has changed in these years. In addition, the Dynamic Factor Analysis allows us to identify the factors that drive these changes. Moreover, the contextual analysis of the measures that were utilized to face the crisis could give policy makers some useful suggestions on the most efficacious actions to take." (Author's abstract, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Dotti Sani, Giulia M. & Matteo Luppi (2017): How long is too long? Long-term effects of maternity-related job interruptions on mothers' income in 10 European countries. (Carlo Alberto notebooks 513), Turin, 27 S.

Abstract

"This article inquires whether work interruptions due to childbearing and childrearing have long-term effects on mothers' absolute and relative income in later life in ten European countries. Previous studies have found significant differences in earned income among prime-age women and men, and mothers and fathers, with mothers earning significantly less than men and childless women, both in absolute and relative terms. Many factors account for such differences, including mothers' reduced working hours and productivity, the type of job, job interruptions, self-selection and statistical discrimination. However, while research has investigated the short- and medium-term consequences of having children on mothers absolute and relative earnings, less is known about the long-term effects of childbearing and childrearing on mothers' income in later life. In this article, we investigate whether the length of maternity-related work interruptions is associated with income inequalities at a later age. The analysis, based on four waves of SHARE data (N 7,746), indicates that while short work interruptions are not negatively associated with mothers' absolute and relative earned income in later life, long work interruptions and a failure to return to work have a large impact on women's long-term economic wellbeing, especially in countries where decommodification through family and pension policies is limited." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Fortin, Nicole M., Brian Bell & Michael Böhm (2017): Top earnings inequality and the gender pay gap. Canada, Sweden and the United Kingdom. (IZA discussion paper 10829), Bonn, 42 S.

Abstract

"This paper explores the consequences of the under-representation of women in top jobs for the overall gender pay gap. Using administrative annual earnings data from Canada, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, it applies the approach used in the analysis of earnings inequality in top incomes, as well as reweighting techniques, to the analysis of the gender pay gap. The analysis is supplemented by classic O-B decompositions of hourly wages using data from the Canadian and U.K. Labour Force Surveys. The paper finds that recent increases in top earnings led to substantial 'swimming upstream' effects, therefore accounting for differential progress in the gender pay gap across time periods and a growing share of the gap unexplained by traditional factors." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Foster, Liam, Ruby Chau & Sam Yu (2017): The impact of defamilisation measures on gender and pensions. A comparison between the UK and seven other European countries. In: The journal of poverty and social justice, Jg. 25, H. 3, S. 199-217. DOI:10.1332/175982717X14999284090397

Abstract

"This article uses individual-based and state-led care-focused defamilisation indices to explore women's employment opportunities and experiences and their implications for pension contributions. These two types of defamilisation indices are applied to eight European countries (Belgium, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the UK) which shows that the UK has less generous defamilisation measures than its European counterparts. It indicates that the use of defamilisation measures along with pension policies which are not based on the male breadwinner ideology have the capacity to moderate economic inequalities between men and women in older age." (Author's abstract, © 2017 Policy Press) ((en))

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Geist, Claudia (2017): Three worlds of marriage effects? Gendered marriage earning differences in the United States, Germany, and Sweden. In: Zeitschrift für Familienforschung, Jg. 29, H. 3, S. 253-276. DOI:10.3224/zff.v29i3.01

Abstract

"Verheiratet zu sein wird mit vielen Vorteilen in Verbindung gebracht, aber wir wissen nicht genug über den tatsächlichen Effekt des Eheeintritts auf individuelles Einkommen, insbesondere für Frauen. In diesem Beitrag werden die unmittelbaren und kurzfristigen Effekte untersucht, die eine Verehelichung auf die Einkommen von Männern und Frauen in den USA, in Deutschland und in Schweden hat. Die Untersuchung des Einkommenseffekts der Ehe in drei unterschiedlichen sozial-politischen Settings ermöglicht Einsichten in die Kontextabhängigkeit des Zusammenhangs zwischen Heirat und Einkommen. Mit Fixed-Effects-Modellen wird aufgezeigt, dass der Übergang zur Ehe weder in den Vereinigten Staaten noch in Schweden mit dem Einkommen von Frauen zusammenhängt, während deutsche Frauen dadurch Einkommenseinbußen hinnehmen müssen. Kontrolliert man jedoch die Selektionseffekte bei der Aufnahme einer Beschäftigung, so kommt man zu dem Ergebnis, dass erwerbstätige Frauen in Deutschland mit niedriger Beschäftigungsneigung bei Ehe-Eintritt umgehend Einkommenszuwächse erfahren, dass aber Frauen, die stärker in den Arbeitsmarkt eingebunden sind, dann kurzfristig negativ sanktioniert werden. Für die Männer in den drei Ländern kommt es jedoch beim Übergang in die Ehe zu keinen Einkommenseffekten, wenn deren Beschäftigungswahrscheinlichkeit berücksichtigt wird." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Groof, Sarah de, Frank Hendrickx & Roger Blanpain (Hrsg.) (2017): Work-life balance in the modern workplace. Interdisciplinary perspectives from work-family research, law and policy. (Bulletin of comparative labour relations 98), Alphen aan den Rijn: Kluwer Law International, 389 S.

Abstract

"The term 'work-life balance' refers to the relationship between paid work in all of its various forms and personal life, which includes family but is not limited to it. In addition, gender permeates every aspect of this relationship. This volume brings together a wide range of perspectives from a number of different disciplines, presenting research findings and their implications for policy at all levels (national, sectoral, enterprise, workplace). Collectively, the contributors seek to close the gap between research and policy with the intent of building a better work-life balance regime for workers across a variety of personal circumstances, needs and preferences.
Among the issues and topics covered are the following:
- differences and similarities between men and women and particularly between mothers and fathers in their work choices;
- 'third shift' work (work at home at night or during weekends);
- effect of the extent to which employers perceive management of this process to be a 'burden';
- employers' exploitation of the psychological interconnection between masculinity and breadwinning;
- organisational culture that is more available for supervisors than for rank-and-file workers;
- weak enforcement mechanisms and token penalties for non-compliance by employers;
- trade unions as the best hope for precarious workers to improve work-life balance;
- crowd-work (on-demand performance of tasks by persons selected remotely through online platforms from a large pool of potential and generic workers);
- an example of how to use work-life balance insights to evaluate the law;
- collective self-scheduling;
- employers' duty to accommodate;
- financial hardship as a serious threat to work-life balance." (Publisher information, IAB-Doku) ((en))