Gendered Activation at the Expense of Gender Equality? Activation and Gender Equality as Competing Logics in the Swedish Welfare State

Affilia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 088610992110459
Author(s):  
Ellen Parsland ◽  
Rickard Ulmestig
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Social Insurance System ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Swedish Society ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Labor Market Programs

This study aims to understand how goals of activation and gender equality interact in labor market programs directed towards activating unemployed participants. The study draws on interviews with 28 social workers and managers at four Swedish municipally governed labor market programs typically targeted towards poor, unemployed individuals with little to no attachment to the labor market or social insurance system. Our findings show that activation goals are understood to be clear cut and a dominant logic within the labor market programs. The gender equality goals are understood as fuzzy and subordinate to the activation logic. Our theoretical analysis, based on neo-institutional theory, shows that gendered activation as a hybrid logic is created within the four programs as a means of handling the competing logics of gender equality and activation. Gendered activation may be reasonable on an individual level, where women in long-term unemployment can sustain a higher income through work and become financially independent. In the context of the gender segregated labor market, gendered activation reproduces gendered inequalities when an increasing interest for activation policy among welfare states overshadows claims of gender equality. Furthermore, our study exemplifies the systemic reproduction of racist discourse within social- and labour market policies. Within the logic of gendered activation, migrant women become singled out as specifically problematic for Swedish society to handle when unemployment is given gendered and cultural explanations. Through the logic of gendered activation, gender equality goals become no-matter-what employment rather than employment leading to equal outcomes.

Gender equality and work–family conflict from a cross-national perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 385-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gayle Kaufman ◽  
Hiromi Taniguchi
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Gender Ideology ◽  
Logistic Models ◽  
Work Family Conflict ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Gender Egalitarianism ◽  
Country Level ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Work Family ◽  
The Individual

This study examines the relationship between gender ideology at the individual level, gender equality at the country level, and women and men’s experiences of work interference with family (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW). We use data from the 2012 International Social Survey Programme as well as the 2011 to 2015 Human Development Reports. Our sample consists of 24,547 respondents from 37 countries. Based on multilevel mixed-effects logistic models, we find that women are more likely than men to experience WIF and FIW. At the individual level, traditional gender ideology positively predicts WIF and FIW. Women and men who reside in more gender-unequal countries have a higher likelihood of FIW while men in these contexts also are more likely to experience WIF. Societal gender inequality is more consequential for those who hold less traditional gender ideology. In conclusion, gender egalitarianism at the individual level and gender equality at the country level are both associated with less WIF and FIW. Policies that seek to address work–family balance should incorporate measures to promote gender equality.

scholarly journals Bringing diversity to nature: Politicizing gender, race and class in environmental organizations?

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 874-898 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seema Arora-Jonsson ◽  
Mia Ågren
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Outdoor Recreation ◽  
Organizational Practice ◽  
Environmental Organizations ◽  
Race And Class ◽  
Swedish Society ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Do So

Environmental organizations play an important role in mainstream debates on nature and in shaping our environments. At a time when environmental NGOs are turning to questions of gender-equality and ethnic diversity, we analyze their possibilities to do so. We argue that attempts at ethnic and cultural diversity in environmental organizations cannot be understood without insight into the conceptualizations of nature and the environment that underpin thinking within the organization. Serious attempts at diversity entail confronting some of the core values on nature-cultures driving the organization as well as understanding the dimensions of power such as class, gender, and race that structure its practices. We study what nature means for one such organization, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, and the ways in which thinking about nature dictates organizational practice and sets the boundaries of their work with diversity in their projects on outdoor recreation. We base our analysis on official documents and interviews, analyze how “diversity” and “gender-equality” are represented in the material and reflect on the interconnections as well as the different trajectories taken by the two issues. Our study shows that the organization’s understanding of nature is a central and yet undiscussed determinant of their work with diversity that closes down as much as it opens up the space for greater inclusion of minorities. We argue that for environmental organizations wanting to diversity membership, a discussion of what nature means for people and their relationships to each other and nature is vital to any such efforts.

Gender, Ethnicity, and Self-Employment: A Multilevel Analysis across US Metropolitan Areas

2009 ◽  
Vol 41 (8) ◽  
pp. 1979-1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingfang Wang
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ethnic Composition ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Macroeconomic Conditions ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Gender Groups

Rates of self-employment differ among ethnic groups, between men and women, and by place. Using the 2000 5% Public Use Microdata Samples and hierarchical regression modeling, I examine in this study how metropolitan labor-market characteristics influence the probability of self-employment among non-Hispanic whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians in the United States, separately for men and women. The results show that, after controlling for individual-level characteristics, metropolitan labor-market characteristics—including macroeconomic conditions, overall business structure, ethnic composition, and residential segregation—significantly influence self-employment patterns across ethnic and gender groups.

scholarly journals The TUC and the Failure of Labour's Postwar Social Agenda

2016 ◽  
Vol 89 ◽  
pp. 162-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennie Oude Nijhuis
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
Postwar Period ◽  
Crucial Importance ◽  
Social Insurance System ◽  
Social Agenda ◽  
Market Risks ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Social ◽  
Do So

AbstractThis article illustrates the crucial role played by the Trades Union Congress and its occupationally organized union affiliates in the failure of Labour's postwar social agenda. It has been widely recognized that Labour's inability to improve the social insurance system and construct an effective floor under wages during the first decades of the postwar period was of crucial importance to the continual underdevelopment of the British welfare state and the emergence of a dual welfare system in the United Kingdom. Yet that Labour's inability to do so was to a large extent the result of union opposition has largely been neglected. This article shows that Labour's postwar social agenda had strong consequences for the distribution of earnings among different groups of workers and that these consequences were fiercely resisted by unions representing privileged workers. In doing so, this article illustrates the limited political feasibility of government measures to provide adequate earnings and security against labor market risks for all workers in countries where privileged workers largely organize along occupational lines.

scholarly journals Gender Equality and Gender Difference in Team ­Coverage – Lessons From the Ice Hockey Rink

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Female Athletes ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Medical Professional ◽  
Ice Hockey ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
National Team ◽  
And Gender

Covering all female sports teams poses particular challenges. Since the Title IX established in the U.S. in 1972 ensuring that men and women have equitable participation opportunities, as well as access to scholarships in sport programs, and since UNESCO recognized sports and physical activity as a human right in 1978, the world and the global sports communities have come a long way in pursuing gender equality in sports. However, gender equality in sports does not mean that gender differences shouldn’t be researched or considered while developing training plans and programs, and in the prevention and treatment of disease and injury. Indeed, there is undeniably plenty of scientific evidence that sex and gender differences play a major role when it comes to disease risks and symptoms, injury patterns and frequency, and also in regards to response to treatments. The covering medical professional needs to appreciate these facts and include them into his decision making process. Based on experience as a team doctor for female athletes on the national team, I propose three levels that must be considered when addressing gender and sex differences in team coverage, namely 1) the psychosocial level, 2) the epidemiological level, and 3) the individual level concerning the female body.

scholarly journals Black Population Size and the Structure of United States Labor Market Inequality

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip N. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Labor Market Outcomes ◽  
Black Population ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Labor Market Inequality ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Black Population Size

This dissertation investigates the relationship between relative Black population size and the structure of labor market inequality by race-ethnicity, gender and class. There are five principal new developments here. First, Black-White inequality for women -- as well as gender inequality -- is integrated into the research. Second, by examining three major labor market outcomes -- employment status, occupational attainment, and earnings -- the project offers a more systematic view of the relationships under study. This has important implications for better understanding possible causal mechanisms of racial-ethnic composition. Third, existing threat and crowding hypotheses are tested with new models using measures of residential and occupational segregation. Fourth, tests of class interactions are offered, casting new light on continuing debates about the relative costs and benefits of Black-White inequality across class and gender lines. Finally, estimation of contextual effects in all models is improved with hierarchical modeling techniques. Larger relative Black population size means more "race" in the local economy, and more "racial" inequality. This project asks the question: is more "race" good or bad for White and Black men and women at the individual level; whom does Black-White inequality help or hurt, and in what ways? I conclude that when the Black population is larger, Black-White inequality is more salient, and more important relative to class and gender inequality. A consistent set of models shows this pattern across labor market outcomes, and across gender and class groups -- as well as across variation in individual-level characteristics besides racial-ethnicity. Thus Black-White inequality again appears not only pervasive but also structural to the system of social stratification in the United States.

Easy and Hard Redistribution: The Political Economy of Welfare States in Latin America

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 988-1006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alisha C. Holland ◽  
Ben Ross Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Unemployment Insurance ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Welfare Regimes ◽  
Social Insurance System ◽  
Policy Model ◽  
Major Break

Comparative research on Latin American welfare states recently has focused on the extension of non-contributory benefits to those outside the formal labor market. This extension of benefits constitutes a major break from past exclusionary welfare regimes. Yet there also are substantial areas of continuity, especially in the contributory social-insurance system that absorbs most of welfare budgets. We develop here a framework for studying changes in Latin American welfare states that reconciles these trends. We argue that Latin American governments enjoyed an “easy” stage of welfare expansions in the 2000s, characterized by distinct political coalitions. Bottom-targeted benefits could be layered on top of existing programs and provided to wide segments of the population. But many Latin American governments are nearing the exhaustion of this social-policy model. We explore policy and coalitional challenges that hinder moves to “hard” redistribution with case studies of unemployment insurance in Chile and housing in Colombia.

scholarly journals Foreign experience of financial support of citizens in case of unemployment

2020 ◽  
pp. 23-26
Author(s):  
Olena PETRUSHKA
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
State Regulation ◽  
The State ◽  
Social Benefits ◽  
Unemployment Benefits ◽  
Employment Policy ◽  
Social Insurance System ◽  
Insurance System ◽  
Swedish Model

Introduction. Unemployment, as one of the world's economic problems today, significantly affects the material, social and professional level of the working population. Payment of unemployment benefits is one of the measures of social support of citizens by the state. Such social benefits are twofold, as on the one hand they replace lost earnings, and on the other one they will be perceived by the state regulation of labor resources. The purpose of the paper is to study and borrow positive experience of social insurance in case of unemployment in different countries of the world in accordance with their affiliation to labor market models and employment promotion. Results. The American Unemployment Insurance System is formed solely by employers' contributions (except in 3 states where employees also pay contributions) and provides benefits for 26 weeks. Each state has its own social security program, according to which contributions are formed and unemployment benefits are paid. If we talk about the European model of employment, its characteristic feature is that it is focused on reducing employment by increasing productivity and increasing the income level of working citizens. The Swedish model of social insurance in the event of unemployment is characterized by an active employment policy, in particular, preference is given to vocational training and professional development. In addition, the emphasis is on providing employment by creating jobs in the public sector with average and satisfactory working and pay conditions. The Japanese model of employment incentives has a number of characteristic features: the country has a widespread system of lifelong employment; the amount of remuneration for work is set depending on the length of service of the employee, his age and marital status; trade unions (unions) are not created on a sectoral basis, but directly at the level of economic entities. Conclusion. Building a multi-level social insurance system enables insured persons to receive high-level social benefits, insurers to create favorable working conditions and select highly qualified workers, and insurers to regulate the labor market and reduce unemployment.

The Welfare State and Gender Equality

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Bergqvist
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
General Pattern ◽  
State Policies ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Household Work ◽  
Different Shapes ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Welfare State

In all welfare states there is a general pattern where women have more substantial care obligations than men. Women usually do more household work than men, including taking care of children and elderly relatives. However, the pattern takes different shapes according to how social arrangements and policies are constructed. Welfare state policies have an impact on how work and family commitments are combined, and thereby also affect gender equality. The Swedish welfare state has explicitly been designed with the goal to increase gender equality. In this individual earner-carer model women as well as men are encouraged and expected to be breadwinners as well as caregivers. The question is how far it has succeeded.

Gender mainstreaming and social policies in Europe

2019 ◽  
pp. 47-74
Author(s):  
Vera Lomazzi ◽  
Isabella Crespi
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Welfare Regimes ◽  
Family Issue ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Work Family ◽  
Gender Budgeting ◽  
Over Time

The third chapter describes the changes in the main conceptualisations of gender equality and GM in relations with social and gender policies and their development over time in Europe. Is it clear that there are different potential instruments available in the gender equality perspective and the relevance of the gender mainstreaming strategy for social policies is to propose and pursue the introduction of a gender equality perspective to all policies at all levels of governance. In particular, the chapter analyseshow policies are addressing the gender mainstreaming perspective and if and how different welfare states and welfare regimes could influence the way in which gender measures and policies are implemented. The work-family issue is a field of application and verification in evaluating the degree of gender equality options within a welfare state system in a comparative way. The issue of evaluation of gender and social policies is also considered in the analysis of the gender budgeting and gender auditing strategies applied to measure the implementation and the effectiveness of gender mainstreaming.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document