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Open AccessArticle

Adult Worker Model Typologies: Examining Work–Family Policies in Fifteen European Countries

by Iris Po Yee Lo, Ruby Chui Man Chau and Sam Wai Kam Yu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(22), 14637; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192214637 - 8 Nov 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2569

This article aims to advance the discussion of government policies for improving women’s work and family life. It focuses on exploring whether it is reasonable to expect that the supported adult worker model will play an important role in guiding governments to reduce the gender employment gap and, at the same time, increase women’s resources for strengthening their control over family and work life. This model posits that governments should take a proactive approach to encouraging women to take part in formal employment, such as providing care support measures. To examine the impact of the model, this article develops an ‘input adult worker model typology’ and an ‘output adult worker model typology’ using cluster analysis of comparative data covering 15 countries. The findings show that it is important not to overestimate the impact of the supported adult worker model on reducing the gender employment gap or increasing women’s control over their lives in most of the 15 countries. The evidence generated from these typologies highlights the difficulties involved in promoting women’s welfare despite the use of the adult worker model as a substitute for the male-breadwinner model. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Family Health)

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15 pages, 336 KB

Open AccessArticle

Family and Work Lives of Lesbians in China: Implications for the Adult Worker Model

by Iris Po-Yee Lo, Emma H. Liu and Sam Wai-Kam Yu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(11), 6390; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19116390 - 24 May 2022

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5024

Abstract

This article examines the ways in which lesbians explore opportunities and navigate constraints in their family and work lives in urban China. It not only reveals Chinese lesbians’ difficulties in gaining equal access to the labour market and developing their desired family lives, but also discusses possible ways of enhancing the applicability of the adult worker model for sexual minority women. Previous research has indicated a shift from the male breadwinner model to the adult worker model, suggesting that both men and women are expected to join the labour market, and that women should not carry all the care responsibilities within the family. However, the model largely overlooks the interplay of gender and sexuality factors in shaping work and family lives. This article adopts a qualitative mixed-methods approach, including interviews with 20 Chinese lesbians and social media analysis, to examine lesbians’ experiences of taking part in the family as adults and in the wider economy as workers. It shows how gender norms, heteronormativity, and policy intersect in generating obstacles for Chinese lesbians to thrive as respectable adult workers. This has important implications for attempts to improve the adult worker model to fit better with people’s diverse work/family needs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health and Well-Being Related to New Family Forms: Perspectives of Adult Individuals, Couples, Extended Family Members, Children, and Professionals)

22 pages, 1500 KB

Open AccessArticle

Work–Family Articulation Policies in Portugal and Gender Equality: Advances and Challenges

by Susana Ramalho Marques, Sara Falcão Casaca and Manuela Arcanjo

Soc. Sci. 2021, 10(4), 119; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10040119 - 26 Mar 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 8149

Abstract

Portugal has been described as a singular case in terms of the participation of women in the labour market and work–life balance policies. Unlike the other so-called Southern European countries, where a belated and somewhat slower move away from the male breadwinner model has been found, Portugal stands out from the other EU member states with its relatively high rate of female employment and the prevalence of the dual-earner model based on continuous and fundamentally full-time employment. Moreover, the “early return to full-time work and a gender equality oriented model” calls for a separate analysis of this country’s case. In addition to providing a comprehensive overview of the singularities of Portugal’s employment patterns and work–family articulation policies, this article substantially adds to the existing literature by bringing new analytical angles to the debate. The intention is therefore to shed light on the political discourses that fuelled the policy debate throughout the three decades following Portugal’s transition to democracy, up until the latest and most decisive policy changes. This article also examines the key social actors’ views about the political process sustaining the development of policies in this area and identifies the major players promoting the most progressive legislative advances in the country. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gender Relations at Work: Persistent Patterns and Social Change)

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23 pages, 355 KB

Open AccessArticle

A Socio-Structural Perspective on Family Model Preferences, Gender Roles and Work–Family Attitudes in Spain

by Almudena Moreno-Mínguez, Marta Ortega-Gaspar and Carlos Gamero-Burón

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8010004 - 25 Dec 2018

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 9809

Abstract

Since the early 1990s, the diversity of work–family arrangement models has increased in Spain. It is difficult to understand this phenomenon without attending to the Spanish population’s preferences for such models. This article analyses the attitudes towards gender roles, and family model preferences within a normative and socio-structural framework. Using data from the International Social Survey Programme 2012, we developed descriptive and explanatory analyses. The findings reveal contradictions between attitudes towards the mother’s and father’s work intensity and gender roles that seem to be resolved through preferences for a “hybrid” or “adaptive” family model. We also identified the determinants of family model preferences for both men and women. The results show that gender plays a significant role in explaining preferences (women are less likely than men to prefer the male-breadwinner family model) and that socio-structural factors such as age, education level, immigrant condition, religious status and social class influence the preferences of men and women differently. Ultimately, these results contrast with Hakim’s Preference Theory, which emphasises individuals’ choices over socio-structural factors as determinants of family models, and align with Crompton’s and Pfau-Effinger’s theories. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Work-Family Balance and Gender (In)equalities in Europe: Policies, Processes and Practices)

20 pages, 275 KB

Open AccessArticle

Being a “Good” Son and a “Good” Daughter: Voices of Muslim Immigrant Adolescents

by Cristina Giuliani, Maria Giulia Olivari and Sara Alfieri

Soc. Sci. 2017, 6(4), 142; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci6040142 - 17 Nov 2017

Cited by 37 | Viewed by 7731

Abstract

In the last decade, a growing empirical work has focused on adaptation processes of immigrants from Muslim-majority countries who live in the West, particularly Muslim youth born and/or educated in Western countries. The current study explored how Muslim boys and girls immigrated from Morocco, Egypt and Pakistan negotiate their identity on the base of interiorized social and cultural in-group norms associated to the representation of a “good” son and a “good” daughter within the resettlement society. Participants were 45 Muslim immigrant adolescents (30 females, 15 males) coming from Morocco, Egypt and Pakistan, who were interviewed through an in-depth semi-structured interview. Thematic analysis carried out on the interview transcripts permitted to identify four themes and thirteen subthemes, revealing interesting differences based on participants’ gender and country of origin. The quality of being obedient and respectful of parents’ desires was a significant common topic among all participants, although it was differently articulated by girls and boys. For girls, norms and expectations were strictly modeled around staying at home and preserving heritage culture. For boys, a heavy mandate—that is, gaining educational success in order to become the breadwinner—weights on them. Implications of these gender-based challenges are discussed in relation to specific vulnerabilities experienced by young Muslims living in Western society. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding Muslim Mobilities and Gender)

16 pages, 290 KB

Open AccessArticle

Income Sharing within Households: Evidence from Data on Financial Satisfaction

by Susanne Elsas

Soc. Sci. 2016, 5(3), 47; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci5030047 - 6 Sep 2016

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 5899

Abstract

This paper contributes to the understanding of gender aspects in the intra-household sharing of income. I estimate models of differences in financial satisfaction between household partners using panel data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study, which allows one to account for household-level fixed effects. The paper adds to the literature a further convincing rejection of the equal sharing hypothesis. What is more and novel, the results imply that unequal income sharing is asymmetric and triggered by the relative employment statuses of the partners: in male breadwinner households, the women’s well-being is affected by the distribution factor; in double full-time couples, it is the man’s well-being. Full article

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