Family policy and women's employment outcomes in 45 high‐income countries: A systematic qualitative review of 238 comparative and national studies

Abstract

AbstractThe article reviews the available quantitative evidence on the relationship between explicit family policy and women's employment outcomes in 45 high‐income countries between 1980 and 2016. At the methodological level, we gathered 238 papers through a four‐stage systematic qualitative review. We included articles published in English in international journals or by leading research institutes. Despite the accrued importance of the field, comparative works and national case studies do not sufficiently engage one another for methodological and disciplinary reasons. Our contribution is to integrate the findings from both streams of the literature in two ways. First, we chart systematically the debate describing its evolution over four decades, the disciplines involved (demography, economics, politics, social policy, sociology, and interdisciplinary work), and the geographical and policy breadth of the empirical contributions. Second, we provide a rich guide for scholars in the field by exploring how national case studies fit (or not) the broad trends captured in comparative research and discussing key and controversial debates in the field. In conclusion, we point out also important gaps in the literature and propose new avenues for future research. An exhaustive set of tables provides information on each comparative and national case study and on the databases and variables employed in the literature.