Work–Family Reconciliation Policy in France

Making Waves ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 73-84
Author(s):  
Jan Windebank

This chapter examines the history of French work-family reconciliation policies from the 1970s until the present day. It considers the extent to which the development of these policies does and does not link to second wave feminist ideas about women’s domestic labour that emerged in the 1970s. It argues that while in Scandinavian countries, for example, debates and policies addressing work-family reconciliation debates considered men’s roles in the home as well as women’s employment, in France men’s roles were not addressed. This has meant that while French women today are well integrated into the labour force, and have used a variety of resources available to them to free themselves from domestic and caring responsibilities, men’s role in the family has changed very little in comparison with women’s role in the workforce.

2021 ◽  
pp. 0192513X2110380
Author(s):  
José María García-de-Diego ◽  
Livia García-Faroldi

Recent decades have seen an increase in women’s employment rates and an expansion of egalitarian values. Previous studies document the so-called “motherhood penalty,” which makes women’s employment more difficult. Demands for greater shared child-rearing between parents are hindered by a normative climate that supports differentiated gender roles in the family. Using data from the Center for Sociological Research [Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas] (2018), this study shows that the Spanish population perceives that differentiated social images of motherhood and fatherhood still persist. The “sexual division in parenting” index is proposed and the profile of the individuals who most perceive this sexual division is analyzed. The results show that women and younger people are the most aware of this social normativity that unequally distributes child care, making co-responsibility difficult. The political implications of these results are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-116
Author(s):  
Neetha N.

In India, formation of NGO-aided self-help groups (SHGs) for production was seen as an important step to lift women out of economic marginalisation and, thus, for women’s empowerment. With changes in economic policies, challenges of wage employment for women were also assumed to have been addressed. In this context, this article, drawing from the history of empowerment discourse and its obsession with the economic aspect, examines women’s employment and its multiple dimensions The analysis provides insights into the gender-based inequalities in the labour market which are evident in the concentration of women workers in precariat, feminised jobs either under the control of the family or without any recognition or legal protection. The prevalence of regressive gendered ideologies in employment and in the division of housework raises critical questions about the understanding of the two critical pillars of empowerment, namely, choice and agency.


2015 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 62-78
Author(s):  
Ramesh Babu Kafle

This paper studies regional differences in currently married women’s employment status, its nature and some of the covariates in Nepal, with special focus to their education and economic status by analysing data from Nepal Demographic and Health Survey, 2011. Women’s employment, with substantial regional variation in the three ecological regions, is predominately unpaid, done mainly for family members, mostly in agriculture sector and women work throughout the year. Women are employed mainly in family farm and their job is unpaid. Higher education of women is positively associated with their involvement in paid jobs. Women of better wealth strata are less likely to be employed but if employed, they are more likely to be in paid jobs. Increasing education of women may have mixed effect in future. Policy measures are desirable to minimize these regional differences and to reallocate the total labour force in general and the female labour force in particular in more productive sectors with secured paid jobs for women for prosperity of the country.


2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (7) ◽  
pp. 713-727 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abeer Alfarran ◽  
Joanne Pyke ◽  
Pauline Stanton

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effectiveness of the Saudi employment programme “Nitaqat” in addressing institutional barriers to women’s employment in the Saudi private sector. The paper has a particular focus on the perspectives of unemployed women as the intended recipients of increased employment opportunities. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts a qualitative approach, drawing on findings from face-to-face interviews conducted with two groups of stakeholders, government officials and unemployed Saudi women. Findings Four key findings are identified. First, the considerable cultural and regulatory barriers of a conservative society are resilient impediments to the success of Saudi employment policy. Second, discrimination against women is endemic in the Saudi society; however, it is largely unrecognised within the Saudi culture and often accepted by women themselves. Third, due to government regulations, cultural constraints and the gendered educational system, the private sector contributes to sustaining labour market segmentation through discriminatory practices. Finally, while a positive change is taking place in Saudi Arabia regarding women’s employment, it is incremental and uneven. Originality/value This paper provides new insights into the institutional barriers related to the labour force participation of Saudi women from the perspective of Saudi women themselves.


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