Transcript Diapositiva 1

GENDER ISSUES
ACADEMIC YEAR 2014-15
Maria A. Confalonieri
Gender and the Welfare State
The Scandinavian and the Anglo-Saxon Models
The Nordic Model
• “Gender equality across paid work , care
work, income, time and voice” (Pascall,
Lewis 2004)
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Equal participation to the labor market
Sharing of family responsibilities
Children benefits
De-familization of care
High representation of women, effective gender
equality bodies
Shared values and political goals
• Equality, solidarity, universalism
• Inclusive citizenship
• Equality conceived as equality of condition
:equitable distribution of material resource
in order to promote well being and allow
everyone to flourish (Levitas 2004)
The origins of the women’s friendly
welfare state
• The critical juncture :
• Debate on demography in the early decades of the XX
century.
• In all European countries : how to sustain the birthrate?
• Original policy approach in Sweden (Myrdal and
Myrdal): supporting family welfare and women’s works
Sweden
• Family friendly policies since the 1930s
• 1948-universal benefit for children
• Expansion since the 60s
• Hegemony of the Social-Democratic Party
in power from 1932 to 1988 with a share of
votes between 42 an 50%
Consolidation since the Sixties
• Economic growth and labour demand :
women instead of immigrants
• Trade-unization of women and women’s
vote for socialdemocratic parties
supporting the service-oriented welfare
model
The virtouos circle of the Nordic
welfare state
Expansion of state
provided services
Socialdemocracy
In government
Trade-unionization of
Women.
Women’s support for
Socialdemocracy
Expansion of
women’s participation
to the labor market
because of job creation
and increased
availability
paid for
work
offor
women
paid work
Childcare as right to early
education
• Early education as a children’s entitlement
• Standards defined by national law on
education
• 2000- family contribution not over 3% of
family income
• Long hours (7-18,30)
Parental leave
• Longest and most genoursly compensated
• Since 1974 parental leave also for fathers
• 13 months 80% of salary -3 to the father nontransferable
• Fathers’ take up 42% (average duration 1month)
• Fiscal bonus if the leave is shared
• Flexibility
Family benefits
• Universal benefits for children  cover 1/3
of the cost of a child and 1/5 of the cost of
a teen-ager
• Means-tested benefit for housing costs
(30% of families with children)
Denmark
• Introduction in the 20-30s: legal equality,
equal pay and employment rights,
provision for poor families and single
mothers.
• Expansion 60-70s
Denmark
• 1970-Universal benefit for children
• Service intensive-1/2 expenditure for family
policies in services.
• Childacare 90% 1-2 years old -Family fees not
over 25% of actual costs
• Parental leave can be shared by parents: 64
weeks and 32 with a coverage of 90% of salary
but limited take-up by fathers. Daddy leave (2
weeks) introduced but removed in 2002
Finland
• Universal child benefit in 1948.
• Parental leave 26 weeks 66% of salary
+ 119 weeks with 350 euro per month.
• Place in crèches or childacare home
allowance universal right for children
under 3
• Childcare fees  not over 15% of costs
Libera-Anglo-Saxon
• Liberal creed (self determination of
families, value of self-reliace)
• Opposition of the Trade Unions to family
benefits (focus on male wage as family
wage).
• Early leagal and political equality of
women
• 1945 Child benefit only ( modest) universal
benefit
60-80
• Declining provision of childcare
• Increase rate of participation of women to
the labour market and diffusion of twoearners family model
• Solo mothers poverty and welfare
dependency
The paradigm shift with the New
Labour
• Policy frame “social investement” welfare
state focus on social esclusion and child
poverty (1 out of 8)
• equal opportunities and welfare through work
• National Child Strategy and Sure Start (1997-98)
eliminate child poverty by 2020
• Support for children’s cost (mainly tax-benefits)
• Activation of parents (New Deal for Lone
parents)
• Childcare
Ireland
• Catholic + liberal tradition- strong
breadwinner model
• Legal discrimination of women
• Stigmatizing measures for lone mothers
Ireland since 1990s
• Irish “economic miracle” new resources
» Growing participation of women to the labour market
Improvement in family and child allowances
One parent family benefit (cumulate with income from
work)
Prental leave benefit still not generous (EU minima)
Childcare - financial effort  end 2000s 20% 0-3
fiscal benefits for hiring baby sitters
U.S.
• Liberal model
• High participation of women to the labour
market- low segregation (both horizontal
and vertical) and relatively low gender
wage gap.-autonomy
• Inequality in the quality of (market
provided) care.
US retreat from Maternalism (Orloff
2006)
• Policy legacy : Residualism: since the ’30 benefits for poor families
(AFDC).
• Since the ’70 __> increasing participation of women to paid work.
• Strong anti-discrimination and equal opportunity policies (Courts)
• Due to immigration supply of low paid market provided care
services
• Since the 80s : beneficiaries of AFDC mostly black solo mothers and
debate on welfare dependency (“welfare queens”).
• 1996  removal of AFDC. “Activation” welfare through work .
• Enphasis on freedom of choice by the families
• Tax benefits for families that provide for the costs of raising children
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