Policy Press
Eighteen Towards a multi-active society: daring to imagine a new work–life regime
-
Abstract
Despite equal opportunity and work/life balance policies, no modern labour societies have solved the structural work/family conflict in a gender equal way. These societies continue to struggle with reconciling working life and family life and to overcome persistent inequalities between men and women. It is possible to talk about an improvement in women’s condition at the same time as an increase in gender inequalities, because though the situation of women has improved in modern societies, that of mothers has been, and today remains, quite worrisome. To be transformative, legislative choices must deconstruct the foundations of the work/family regime in these societies. This chapter analyses these foundations in order to build an alternative ‘reconciliation’ scenario, with the creation of a ‘multi-active society’ as the central goal and whose structuring principle of societal organisation is no longer ‘employment’ but rather ‘contribution’.
Abstract
Despite equal opportunity and work/life balance policies, no modern labour societies have solved the structural work/family conflict in a gender equal way. These societies continue to struggle with reconciling working life and family life and to overcome persistent inequalities between men and women. It is possible to talk about an improvement in women’s condition at the same time as an increase in gender inequalities, because though the situation of women has improved in modern societies, that of mothers has been, and today remains, quite worrisome. To be transformative, legislative choices must deconstruct the foundations of the work/family regime in these societies. This chapter analyses these foundations in order to build an alternative ‘reconciliation’ scenario, with the creation of a ‘multi-active society’ as the central goal and whose structuring principle of societal organisation is no longer ‘employment’ but rather ‘contribution’.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of figures and tables v
- List of abbreviations vii
- Notes on contributors ix
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Introduction: much work still to do 1
-
Recent developments and the politics of leave policy
- Spain: leave policy in times of economic crisis 21
- Poland: leave policy and the process and goals of a major reform 39
- United Kingdom: leave policy and an attempt to take a new path 57
- Israel: leave policy, familialism and the neoliberal welfare state 75
- Japan: leave policy and attempts to increase fathers’ take-up 91
- China: leave and population policies 111
- Mexico: leave policy, co-responsibility in childcare and informal employment 129
- United States: leave policy, failure and potential 147
-
Some current issues in leave policy
- What do people want? Leave policy preferences in different countries 167
- Gender equality: Parental Leave design and evaluating its effects on fathers’ participation 187
- Flexibility: some consequences for fathers’ caregiving 205
- The workplace: challenges for fathers and their use of leave 223
- Care-work policies: conceptualizing leave within a broader framework 241
- A social right? Access to leave and its relation to parents’ labour market position 261
-
Future directions for leave policy
- Universal Basic Income: what could it mean for gender equality in care work? 283
- The time credit system: the panacea for a life course approach? 299
- Towards a multi-active society: daring to imagine a new work–life regime 315
- Re-imagining Parental Leave: a conceptual ‘thought experiment’ 333
- Parental Leave and beyond: recent international developments, current issues and future directions 353
- Index 371
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of figures and tables v
- List of abbreviations vii
- Notes on contributors ix
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Introduction: much work still to do 1
-
Recent developments and the politics of leave policy
- Spain: leave policy in times of economic crisis 21
- Poland: leave policy and the process and goals of a major reform 39
- United Kingdom: leave policy and an attempt to take a new path 57
- Israel: leave policy, familialism and the neoliberal welfare state 75
- Japan: leave policy and attempts to increase fathers’ take-up 91
- China: leave and population policies 111
- Mexico: leave policy, co-responsibility in childcare and informal employment 129
- United States: leave policy, failure and potential 147
-
Some current issues in leave policy
- What do people want? Leave policy preferences in different countries 167
- Gender equality: Parental Leave design and evaluating its effects on fathers’ participation 187
- Flexibility: some consequences for fathers’ caregiving 205
- The workplace: challenges for fathers and their use of leave 223
- Care-work policies: conceptualizing leave within a broader framework 241
- A social right? Access to leave and its relation to parents’ labour market position 261
-
Future directions for leave policy
- Universal Basic Income: what could it mean for gender equality in care work? 283
- The time credit system: the panacea for a life course approach? 299
- Towards a multi-active society: daring to imagine a new work–life regime 315
- Re-imagining Parental Leave: a conceptual ‘thought experiment’ 333
- Parental Leave and beyond: recent international developments, current issues and future directions 353
- Index 371
