Explaining New Patterns in Family Leave Policies in Latin America: Competing Visions and Facilitating Institutions

2021 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-121
Author(s):  
Marisa Hawley ◽  
Matthew E. Carnes

ABSTRACTRecent years have seen the rapid passage and modification of family leave policies in Latin America, a surprising trend, given the region’s historically conservative gender norms. This article argues that the rise of new paternity leave policies—as well as the modifications to longer-standing maternity leave policies—reflects contending visions of gender and the family, mediated by the institutions and actors that populate the region’s political landscape. Using an original dataset of family policy measures, this article finds that the factors facilitating the adoption of new, vanguard policies, such as paternity leave, function in ways different from those that shape the expansion of longer-standing policies, including maternity leave.

Author(s):  
T Rostovskaya ◽  

The article analyzes the author's sociological research conducted in 2020 on the demand for demographic policy measures in ten subjects of the Russian Federation. The author notes the need for comprehensive, long-term, effective measures of family policy to build confidence on the part of young people in the reliability and effectiveness of the family policy model.


2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-172
Author(s):  
Hans Bertram ◽  
Carolin Deuflhard

A sustainable family policy acknowledges the contributions of the family to society and takes it as point of departure for the support of the family. It is characterized by a clear goal orientation and the integration of different policy measures into a comprehensive strategy. Based on this concept, the article reflects the historical evolution of family policy focusing on the question whether and to what extent a paradigm shift from compensation to active support has occurred in the interpretation of policies in the fields of infrastructure, time and money. This is essential for the historical genesis of the parental allowance, considering that the emergence of the concept of a sustainable family policy was based on this paradigm shift. By means of reconstructing the conceptual evolution and political implementation of the parental allowance since the 1970s, we argue that this political measure is the first to be integrated in such a concept. The analysis shows that even though the parental allowance is a progressive element of a sustainable family policy, the implementation of a comprehensive strategy still lacks a shift towards the life course perspective and an independent basic income for children. Zusammenfassung Nachhaltige Familienpolitik erkennt die Leistungen der Familie für die Gesellschaft an und nimmt sie als Ausgangspunkt für die Unterstützung der Familie. Sie zeichnet sich durch klare Zielorientierungen und die Integration der verschiedenen familienpolitischen Leistungen aus. Vor diesem Hintergrund analysiert dieser Beitrag, ob und inwiefern aus der Entwicklung der Familienpolitik ein Paradigmenwechsel im Verständnis der familienpolitischen Kernelemente Infrastruktur, Zeit und Geld von einem Nachteils- zu einem Leistungsausgleich hervorgegangen ist. Denn erst auf dieser Grundlage konnte das Konzept nachhaltiger Familienpolitik formuliert werden. Anhand der Rekonstruktion der konzeptionellen Entwicklung und politischen Durchsetzung des einkommensabhängigen Elterngeldes seit den 1970er Jahren wird aufgezeigt, dass hier zum ersten Mal eine familienpolitische Maßnahme geschaffen wurde, die in dieses Konzept eingebettet ist. Die Analyse zeigt jedoch, dass das Elterngeld zwar ein Element einer nachhaltigen Familienpolitik ist, es aber bisher weder gelungen ist, eine am Gedanken des Leistungsausgleichs orientierte finanzielle Transferpolitik zu konzipieren noch eine Lebensverlaufsorientierung umzusetzen.


1998 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Waldfogel

As the gender gap in pay between women and men has been narrowing, the 'family gap' in pay between mothers and nonmothers has been widening. One reason may be the institutional structure in the United States, which has emphasized equal pay and opportunity policies but not family policies, in contrast to other countries that have implemented both. The authors now have evidence on the links between one such family policy and women's pay. Recent research suggests that maternity leave coverage, by raising women's retention after childbirth, also raises women's levels of work experience, job tenure, and pay.


Author(s):  
Shirley Gatenio Gabel ◽  
Wen-Jui Han ◽  
Xiaoran Wang

China’s recent abolition of its one-child policy has provided a major impetus to formally restructure its Maternity Leave policy. Confronted by shifting socio-demographics and changing roles of government and employers as a result of a transition to a market economy, China needed to adjust the demographic structure of the country and address social expectations of family composition and caring. To motivate parents to have more than one child, Maternity Leave has been lengthened nation-wide and Paternity Leave introduced in some areas. This chapter reviews the evolution of modern Maternity Leave policy in China beginning in 1951 and traces how Maternity (and most recently Paternity) Leave policies have unfolded in response to changing political, socio-economic and demographic goals. In its earliest period, China’s leave policy was driven initially by socialist ideals, then largely by economic reasons and women’s rights from the 1980s into the new century. The most recent shift in family policy was primarily led by social research raising concerns about demographic changes and economic growth. The chapter ends with a discussion of how current changes may affect future directions.


Author(s):  
Renata Falson Cavalca

Resumo: O presente artigo analisa a efetivação da licença-paternidade e sua prorrogação, operada à luz dos princípios constitucionais da dignidade da pessoa humana e da isonomia, e tendo por base a ordem jurídica trabalhista brasileira. Adota-se uma abordagem de natureza constitucional da prerrogativa em questão. O estudo também contempla a questão da igualdade de gênero no mercado de trabalho e a relação dessa igualdade com a necessidade de ampliação da licença-paternidade, no Brasil, a fim de se possibilitar uma melhor repartição dos deveres e direitos de conciliação entre as atividades familiares e o trabalho. Para tanto, são analisados a licença-paternidade, sua regulamentação e a possibilidade de sua prorrogação, buscando, em consonância com o caráter teleológico das normas, possibilitar o convívio familiar e o cuidado com a criança. Também é analisada, em linhas gerais, a legislação que instituiu a licença-paternidade no Brasil, para igualdade efetiva entre mulheres e homens. Todavia, a diferenciação no tocante ao prazo de concessão em equiparação à licença-maternidade ainda se depara com dificuldades de aplicação no cenário contemporâneo, no qual as relações familiares são dinâmicas, o que leva à necessidade do debate quanto à finalidade do instituto, para ensejar a construção de uma legislação efetiva, que atenda aos anseios sociais e constitucionais, no ordenamento justrabalhista brasileiro. Por isso, utilizar-se-á dos posicionamentos doutrinários e jurisprudenciais como forma de se buscar outras alternativas para, além de ressaltar a importância do reconhecimento dos direitos sociais, torná-los efetivos. Dessa forma, o estudo traz reflexões sobre a importância da prorrogação da licença-paternidade, à luz da função promocional do Direito contemporâneo, na seara trabalhista.Abstract: This article analyzes the effectiveness of the paternity leave and its extension, operated in the light of the constitutional principles of human dignity and isonomy, and based on the Brazilian labor legal order. A constitutional approach to the prerogative in question is adopted. The study also addresses the issue of gender equality in the labor market and the relationship between this equality and the need to extend the paternity leave in Brazil in order to allow a better distribution of duties and reconciliation rights between family activities and the work. Therefore, the paternity leave, its regulation and the possibility of its extension are analyzed, seeking, in consonance with the teleological nature of the norms, to enable the family to live together and care for the child. Also analyzed, in general, the legislation that established the paternity leave in Brazil, for effective equality between women and men. However, the differentiation regarding the term of concession in relation to the maternity leave still faces difficulties of application in the contemporary scenario, in which the family relations are dynamic, which leads to the necessity of the debate as to the purpose of the institute, to induce The construction of an effective legislation, which meets the social and constitutional longings, in the Brazilian justrabalhista order. Therefore, it will be used doctrinal and jurisprudential positions as a way to find other alternatives, in addition to emphasizing the importance of recognizing social rights, make them effective. In this way, the study reflects on the importance of extending the paternity leave, in light of the promotional function of contemporary law, in the labor court.


2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Susan Prentice ◽  
Curtis J. Pankratz

When academic faculty become parents, how do their employers respond? This paper addresses that question through a review of family leave policies current in Canadian universities as of March 21, 2000. An analysis of pregnancy, parental, adoption, and partner ('paternity') leave policies reveals that most Canadian university policies produce income loss and disruption and are discriminatory, characterized by gender regu- lation and familialism. We assess some normative criteria for improved family leave provisions, and propose that improving faculty family leave policies would benefit all academics. In particular, improved family leave has the potential to eliminate one dimension of systemic discrimi- nation that creates "chilly climates" for female faculty. We predict that family leave issues are likely to emerge as significant concerns on Canadian campuses.


Author(s):  
Maggie Dwyer

Soldiers in Revolt examines the understudied phenomenon of military mutinies in Africa. Through interviews with former mutineers in Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, and The Gambia, the book provides a unique and intimate perspective on those who take the risky decision to revolt. This view from the lower ranks is key to comprehending the internal struggles that can threaten a military's ability to function effectively. Maggie Dwyer's detailed accounts of specific revolts are complemented by an original dataset of West African mutinies covering more than fifty years, allowing for the identification of trends. Her book shows the complex ways mutineers often formulate and interpret their grievances against a backdrop of domestic and global politics. Just as mutineers have been influenced by the political landscape, so too have they shaped it. Mutinies have challenged political and military leaders, spurred social unrest, led to civilian casualties, threatened peacekeeping efforts and, in extreme cases, resulted in international interventions. Soldiers in Revolt offers a better understanding of West African mutinies and mutinies in general, valuable not only for military studies but for anyone interested in the complex dynamics of African states.


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