The circumstances of families and the social policy contexts
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| Title: | The circumstances of families and the social policy contexts |
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| Authors: | Nieuwenhuis, Rense, Thaning, Max, Bartova, Alzbeta, Lancker, Wim Van |
| Source: | Families, Welfare States and Resilience. :36-57 |
| Subject Terms: | Family Poverty, Care Responsibilities, Welfare State, Employment Regulation, Childcare Policies |
| Description: | This chapter contextualizes the situations and experiences of families with low resources in Belgium, Croatia, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom by looking at the intersections of family, care and paid work. It presents descriptive evidence on the prevalence of various family types, considers aspects of their financial well-being, and explores how the policy context has changed and differs across countries. The evidence shows a clear link between family type and poverty rates, and demonstrates that a high work intensity is no guarantee against poverty. In relation to care responsibilities, the share of families with young children under the age of 3 is shown to have declined, being particularly low among lone parents. There are marked differences in policy development across the countries, but a weakening of employment protection legislation is observed across all six. Based on a review of social policy literature, it is argued that, although income protection, employment legislation and childcare policies can be effective in supporting individuals and families, these policies are associated with inequalities in terms of family diversity, gender, migration background and socioeconomic status. Social policy can play a key role in attenuating these inequalities, but can also perpetuate inequalities between precarious and core workers. |
| File Description: | |
| Access URL: | https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-245316 https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035346769.00009 |
| Database: | SwePub |
Nájsť tento článok vo Web of Science | Abstract: | This chapter contextualizes the situations and experiences of families with low resources in Belgium, Croatia, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom by looking at the intersections of family, care and paid work. It presents descriptive evidence on the prevalence of various family types, considers aspects of their financial well-being, and explores how the policy context has changed and differs across countries. The evidence shows a clear link between family type and poverty rates, and demonstrates that a high work intensity is no guarantee against poverty. In relation to care responsibilities, the share of families with young children under the age of 3 is shown to have declined, being particularly low among lone parents. There are marked differences in policy development across the countries, but a weakening of employment protection legislation is observed across all six. Based on a review of social policy literature, it is argued that, although income protection, employment legislation and childcare policies can be effective in supporting individuals and families, these policies are associated with inequalities in terms of family diversity, gender, migration background and socioeconomic status. Social policy can play a key role in attenuating these inequalities, but can also perpetuate inequalities between precarious and core workers. |
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| DOI: | 10.4337/9781035346769.00009 |