Fathers and Mothers

by Fine-Davis, Margret; Fagnani, Jeanne; Giovannini, Dino; Hojgaard, Lis; Clarke, Hilary

• ISBN13: 9781402018077
• ISBN10: 140201807X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-04-01
• Publisher: Kluwer Academic Pub

Summary

This book presents a comparative analysis of the dilemmas faced by working parents with young children in four European countries - France, Italy, Ireland and Denmark - each of which represents a different "experience" of the evolving gender role process. It was the aim of the study to identify the key issues concerning the reconciliation of work and family roles, with particular emphasis on examining the barriers to men's greater involvement in domestic and family activities. A major purpose of the study was to develop new social indicators to measure issues of work life balance, which could be utilised in other national and cross-national studies. The book provides an overview of the latest research findings in the four countries, as well as a comparison and synthesis of the situations in these countries. It then presents the results of a survey carried out simultaneously in France, Italy, Denmark and Ireland and a comparative analysis of people's dilemmas and coping strategies in these countries. The research identifies which factors in the workplace, the home and society at large are associated with ease vs. difficulty in combining work and family life and with parental well-being. The comparative results contribute to a better understanding of the realities of life of young working parents and also highlight the critically important role played by public social and family policies in facilitating equal opportunities and quality of life for this group of workers. Reconciling work and family is now on the social and political agenda. It is to be hoped that the EU, national governments and individual workplaces will continue to develop new and better policies to promote work-life balance for men as well as women, for - as the data in the study clearly show - people's well-being very much depends on it.

Table of Contents

PREFACE BY GOSTA ESPING-ANDERSEN	v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS	ix
NOTES ON AUTHORS	xi
TABLE OF CONTENTS	xv
LIST OF TABLES IN TEXT	xix
LIST OF FIGURES IN TEXT	xvii
LIST OF TABLES IN APPENDIX	xxix
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION	1	(8)
OVERVIEW OF BOOK	6	(3)
CHAPTER 2: FRANCE	9	(14)
SETTING THE CONTEXT: FRENCH FAMILY AND CHILDCARE POLICIES	9	(2)
CHILDCARE ALLOWANCES: REDUCING THE COSTS OF CHILDCARE FOR WORKING PARENTS	11	(1)
PARENTAL LEAVE AND CHILD-REARING BENEFIT	12	(2)
ATTITUDINAL STUDIES	14	(1)
WORKPLACE POLICIES IN FRANCE	15	(3)
NEW CHALLENGES: IS THERE A PREDICAMENT FOR FAMILY POLICY?	18	(5)
CHAPTER 3: ITALY	23	(18)
NATIONAL SOCIAL POLICIES	23	(5)
WORKPLACE POLICIES-OBJECTIVE MEASURES	28	(4)
ATTITUDINAL STUDIES-SUBJECTIVE MEASURES	32	(4)
STUDIES ON GENDER ROLE ATTITUDES	36	(5)
CHAPTER 4: DENMARK	41	(14)
DENMARK BY NUMBERS	41	(4)
DANISH RULES OF LEAVE	45	(2)
LEAVE AND THE LABOUR MARKET	47	(3)
GENDER AND WORKING LIFE IN WORKPLACE CULTURES	50	(3)
SCANDINAVIAN EQUALITY MODEL(S)	53	(2)
CHAPTER 5: IRELAND	55	(20)
NATIONAL SOCIAL POLICIES	55	(5)
CURRENT STATUS OF FAMILY-FRIENDLY ARRANGEMENTS IN IRISH WORKPLACES	60	(2)
CHILDCARE IN IRELAND: AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE AND CURRENT POLICY ISSUES	62	(6)
ATTITUDINAL STUDIES: CHANGING GENDER ROLES AND SOCIAL POLICIES IN IRELAND	68	(7)
CHAPTER 6: A COMPARISON OF THE FOUR COUNTRIES: AN OVERVIEW	75	(14)
WOMEN'S LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION	75	(3)
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN FERTILITY AND EMPLOYMENT	78	(1)
COMPARATIVE SOCIAL POLICIES	79	(7)
FLEXIBLE WORKING	86	(1)
GENDER ROLES AND ATTITUDES	86	(1)
RESEARCH ON FATHERING	87	(1)
CONCLUSION	88	(1)
CHAPTER 7: METHODOLOGY	89	(8)
METHOD	89	(5)
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SAMPLE	94	(3)
CHAPTER 8: CHILDREN AND FAMILY LIFE	97	(36)
THE EFFECT OF THE BIRTH OF THE YOUNGEST CHILD ON WORK AND FAMILY LIFE	97	(6)
DIVISION OF LABOUR WITHIN THE HOUSEHOLD	103	(14)
CHILDCARE	117	(12)
TIME PREFERENCES	129	(4)
CHAPTER 9: THE WORKPLACE	133	(46)
WORKPLACE DEMOGRAPHICS	133	(5)
CHANGES IN WORK FOLLOWING THE BIRTH OF THE YOUNGEST CHILD	138	(2)
POTENTIAL FOR FLEXIBILITY	140	(6)
PERCEPTIONS OF WORKPLACE ATTITUDES	146	(15)
WORKPLACE POLICIES	161	(18)
CHAPTER 10: COMBINING WORK AND FAMILY LIFE	179	(40)
RECONCILING WORK AND FAMILY	179	(13)
WELL-BEING	192	(4)
CORRELATES OF WELL-BEING	196	(23)
CHAPTER 11: SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION	219	(28)
BACKGROUND	219	(2)
THE STUDY	221	(1)
CHILDREN AND FAMILY LIFE	222	(6)
THE WORKPLACE	228	(8)
COMBINING WORK AND FAMILY LIFE	236	(7)
CONCLUSIONS AND SOCIAL POLICY IMPLICATIONS	243	(4)
APPENDIX A: TABLES	247	(44)
APPENDIX B: QUESTIONNAIRE	291	(30)
REFERENCES	321	(20)
AUTHOR INDEX	341	(4)
SUBJECT INDEX	345