Gender Equality in Europe and the Effect of Work-Family Balance Policies on Gender-Role Attitudes

Vera Lomazzi,Isabella Crespi,Sabine Israel

doi:10.3390/socsci8010005

Vera Lomazzi, Isabella Crespi + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8010005

Copy DOI

Abstract

This study starts from the assumption that the context of opportunities for work-family balance affects individual attitudes toward gender roles, a main indicator of support for gender equality. Compared with extant research, the present study adopts a more articulated definition of “opportunity structure” that includes national income level and social norms on gender attitudes, measures of gender-mainstreaming policies implemented at the company level (flextime), and different work-family balance policies in support of the dual-earner/dual-caregiver family model (e.g., parental-leave schemes and childcare provisions). The effects of these factors are estimated by performing a cross-sectional multilevel analysis for the year 2014. Gender-role attitudes and micro-level controls are taken from the Eurobarometer for all 28 European Union (EU) members, while macro-indicators stem from Eurostat, European Quality of Work Survey, and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Our results show that both institutional and workplace arrangements supporting the dual-earner/dual-caregiver family model are associated with more egalitarian gender-role attitudes This is particularly true concerning availability of formal childcare for 0- to 3-year-olds among institutional factors, as well as work-schedule flexibility among workplace factors, probably as they enable a combination of care and paid work for both men and women.

Highlights

Gender equality is a multidimensional concept that covers all spheres of our social experience (Aboim 2010; Grunow et al 2018; Wharton 2005)
This study focuses on the role played by the opportunity structure in explaining individual gender role attitudes, with a specific focus on work-family balance policies
When looking at the unadjusted gender-pay gap, which is the difference between average gross hourly earnings between male and female employees, we find that in Romania, Luxembourg, Italy, and Belgium, the differences are below 7%, while in the UK, Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Estonia, they are above 20%

Summary

Introduction

Gender equality is a multidimensional concept that covers all spheres of our social experience (Aboim 2010; Grunow et al 2018; Wharton 2005). For a long time the issue of gender equality has been framed only around women’s participation in the labour market 2008; Orloff 1993), neglecting the fact that gender equality concerns women, and that gender inequalities affect far more dimensions than just labour-market participation (Aboim 2010; Lewis 2001). The conceptualisation of gender equality broadened to reflect its multidimensionality, the differentiated progress in the public and private spheres, and the necessity of considering social restrictions placed on men as fathers, as well as gender relations (Fraser 1994; Grunow et al 2018; Lewis 2001; Pascall and Lewis 2004).

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion