Social Europe

politics, economy and employment & labour

  • Projects
    • Corporate Taxation in a Globalised Era
    • US Election 2020
    • The Transformation of Work
    • The Coronavirus Crisis and the Welfare State
    • Just Transition
    • Artificial intelligence, work and society
    • What is inequality?
    • Europe 2025
    • The Crisis Of Globalisation
  • Audiovisual
    • Audio Podcast
    • Video Podcasts
    • Social Europe Talk Videos
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Dossiers
    • Occasional Papers
    • Research Essays
    • Brexit Paper Series
  • Shop
  • Membership
  • Ads
  • Newsletter

Social policy starts at home

by Shahra Razavi on 5th September 2019 @RazaviShahra

Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on LinkedIn

By designing a policy package around the needs of contemporary families, political leaders can promote women’s rights, children’s development and employment.

social policy
Shahra Razavi

Political economy has come a long way. Many figures and institutions that have long embraced neoliberalism increasingly recognise the failures of markets and acknowledge that states may have a role to play in improving socio-economic outcomes. Even the International Monetary Fund now discusses the ‘macro-criticality’ of social protection, the need for progressive taxation and, potentially, universal transfers.

But the conversation—which focuses almost exclusively on coordination between state and market—remains too narrow to produce effective solutions. For that, as a new report by UN Women shows, social factors—especially the role of families and gender equality—must also be included.

These two factors are inextricably linked, with gender inequalities being heavily reinforced by family dynamics, in a way that, say, racial inequalities are not. The problem is compounded by the fact that outdated assumptions about families and gender dynamics continue to shape social and economic policy-making.

Not ‘ideal’

As it stands, only about one third of all households adhere to the ‘ideal’ family structure (two parents with children) on which policies are typically based. Among the two thirds that take a different form, a large share are extended households, which include, for example, aunts, uncles or grandparents. About a quarter of all households are either single-parent or single-person.

Moreover, while marriage remains virtually universal in some parts of the world, it is becoming less common in others, with even long-term partners often choosing to cohabit before or instead of getting married. In some countries in Latin America, southern Africa, and Europe, up to three quarters of women aged 25-29 who are in relationships are cohabiting with their partners.

Join our growing community newsletter!

"Social Europe publishes thought-provoking articles on the big political and economic issues of our time analysed from a European viewpoint. Indispensable reading!"

Polly Toynbee

Columnist for The Guardian

Thank you very much for your interest! Now please check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Powered by ConvertKit

All of this has important policy implications. Given their greater longevity, women over 60 are twice as likely as men of the same age group to be living on their own, often subsisting on a meagre pension and/or little, if any, savings.

Furthermore, single-parent households—more than three quarters of which are headed by single mothers—are, on average, twice as likely as dual-parent households to be living in poverty. Single parents often struggle to balance paid work with their care responsibilities.

Unpaid caregiving

But even in dual-parent and higher-income households, women face significant challenges in juggling paid work and unpaid care work. Globally, women perform over 76 per cent of unpaid caregiving, on average—more than three times as much as men.

This significantly reduces women’s access to independent income. Only about half of married or cohabiting women aged 25-54 are in the labour force, compared with nearly all married or cohabiting men. And whereas the presence of young children in the household decreases women’s employment rates, it increases that of men.


We need your help! Please join our mission to improve public policy debates.


As you may know, Social Europe is an independent publisher. We aren't backed by a large publishing house or big advertising partners. For the longevity of Social Europe we depend on our loyal readers - we depend on you. You can support us by becoming a Social Europe member for less than 5 Euro per month.

Thank you very much for your support!

Become a Social Europe Member

An independent income strengthens women’s bargaining power, enables them to exit abusive relationships and provides security in old age. Moreover, the share of women earning an independent income is inversely correlated with the share of households in poverty. As the Danish sociologist Gøsta Esping-Andersen put it, ‘The single most effective remedy against poverty is maternal employment.’

Early childhood

To enhance women’s economic autonomy, the priority must be to invest in care systems, including early childhood education and care. This is particularly urgent in developing countries, where the gap between the supply of childcare and demand for such services is largest, owing to the relatively small childcare workforce.

Beyond enabling women to pursue economic opportunities, quality, affordable childcare helps to fuel job creation (within the care sector) and build human capital (particularly among the children who benefit from it). Given this—as well as the time commitment that paid work represents for both genders—such investment is needed even if unpaid work is more equally shared within households.

A second priority must be to deliver comprehensive social protections, including paid leave—which enables parents to care for children without becoming disconnected from the labour market—and income support. Family benefits, such as childcare allowances, mitigate the heightened risk of poverty that accompanies childrearing. Single parents should receive additional support.

Meanwhile, universal pensions can support women—who are likely to have fewer savings and assets than men but live longer—in old age. Accessible long-term care and reform of marital-property regimes would also help. Finally, to protect women’s rights to joint assets, social benefits and child custody, family laws and social policies must recognise cohabitation, rather than just marriage.

By designing a policy package around the needs of contemporary families, political leaders can promote women’s rights, children’s development and employment. The same policies would therefore be a boon to economic dynamism and poverty reduction.

Republication forbidden. Copyright: Project Syndicate 2019 Social policy starts at home

Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on LinkedIn
Home ・ Social policy starts at home

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: gender inequality

About Shahra Razavi

Shahra Razavi is director of the Social Protection Department at the International Labour Organization.

Partner Ads

Most Popular Posts

Thomas Piketty,capital Capital and ideology: interview with Thomas Piketty Thomas Piketty
sovereignty Brexit and the misunderstanding of sovereignty Peter Verovšek
China,cold war The first global event in the history of humankind Branko Milanovic
centre-left, Democratic Party The Biden victory and the future of the centre-left EJ Dionne Jr
Covid 19 vaccine Designing vaccines for people, not profits Mariana Mazzucato, Henry Lishi Li and Els Torreele

Most Recent Posts

BBC,public value Don’t defund the BBC Mariana Mazzucato
inequalities,dissatisfaction with democracy Inequalities and democratic corrosion Piergiuseppe Fortunato
Deregulation,Better Regulation,one in one out Leaving behind the EU’s deadly addiction to deregulation Patrick ten Brink
regulation Making EU regulation better for all Isabelle Schömann
governance The crisis after the crisis Christof Schiller, Thorsten Hellmann and Karola Klatt

Other Social Europe Publications

RE No. 12: Why No Economic Democracy in Sweden?
US election 2020
Corporate taxation in a globalised era
The transformation of work
The coronavirus crisis and the welfare state

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

FEPS Progressive Yearbook

Twenty-twenty has been an extraordinary year. The Covid-19 pandemic and the multidimensional crisis that it triggered have boosted existing trends and put forward new challenges. But they have also created unexpected opportunities to set a new course of action for the European Union and—hopefully—make a remarkable leap forward in European integration.

The second edition of the Progressive Yearbook, the yearly publication of the Foundation for European Progressive studies, revolves around the exceptional events of 2020 and looks at the social, economic and political impact they will have in 2021. It is a unique publication, which aims to be an instrument for the progressive family to reflect on the recent past and look ahead to our next future.


CLICK HERE

Social Europe Publishing book

With a pandemic raging, for those countries most affected by Brexit the end of the transition could not come at a worse time. Yet, might the UK's withdrawal be a blessing in disguise? With its biggest veto player gone, might the European Pillar of Social Rights take centre stage? This book brings together leading experts in European politics and policy to examine social citizenship rights across the European continent in the wake of Brexit. Will member states see an enhanced social Europe or a race to the bottom?

'This book correctly emphasises the need to place the future of social rights in Europe front and centre in the post-Brexit debate, to move on from the economistic bias that has obscured our vision of a progressive social Europe.' Michael D Higgins, president of Ireland


MORE INFO

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

Renewing labour relations in the German meat industry: an end to 'organised irresponsibility'?

Over the course of 2020, repeated outbreaks of Covid-19 in a number of large German meat-processing plants led to renewed public concern about the longstanding labour abuses in this industry. New legislation providing for enhanced inspection on health and safety, together with a ban on contract work and limitations on the use of temporary agency employees, holds out the prospect of a profound change in employment practices and labour relations in the meat industry. Changes in the law are not sufficient, on their own, to ensure decent working conditions, however. There is also a need to re-establish the previously high level of collective-bargaining coverage in the industry, underpinned by an industry-wide collective agreement extended by law to cover the entire sector.


FREE DOWNLOAD

ETUI advertisement

Working on digital labour platforms: a trade union guide for trainers on crowd-, app- and platform-based work

This guide aims to raise awareness about the reality of platform work among national trade union organizations. It provides trade union trainers with all the necessary pedagogical elements to deliver education activities at national level, compatible with various professional sectors as well as different time/resource availabilities.

It covers a wide range of needs:

• information on the concept of platform work, its evolution and impact on the labour market;

• development of competences for trade union representatives involved in social dialogue in sectors with a high prevalence of platform workers, and

• raised awareness of the importance of trade union action for decent working conditions for platform workers.


DOWNLOAD HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Industrial relations: developments 2015-2019

Eurofound has monitored and analysed developments in industrial relations systems at EU level and in EU member states for over 40 years. This new flagship report provides an overview of developments in industrial relations and social dialogue in the years immediately prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. Findings are placed in the context of the key developments in EU policy affecting employment, working conditions and social policy, and linked to the work done by social partners—as well as public authorities—at European and national levels.


CLICK FOR MORE INFO

About Social Europe

Our Mission

Article Submission

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641

Find Social Europe Content

Search Social Europe

Project Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

.EU Web Awards