Although parental leave has long formed part of traditional labor relations, it was not until the nineteen seventies that it began to be regarded in some Scandinavian countries as a way ofi balancing work and family life as well as of enhancing gender equality (Duvander,
Spain’s total fertility rate has more than halved since 1975, when it was 2.8, to the
present 1.3 (the lowest rate on record, 1.2, was reached in 1995). At the same time, the
mean age at first childbirth has grown continually, seriously hindering any sustained
recovery of fertility. Cohort fertility, in turn, has declined uninterruptedly since the
1941 cohort, and according to all estimates, this will drop to 1.6 for women born in the
1960s. A downturn in nuptiality, which has not been offset by a rise in consensual
unions, along with the prevalence of contraceptives and abortion, have contributed
substantially to falling fertility. Underlying this decrease is the profound cultural, social,
and economic change that has raised the perceived costs of leaving the parental home
and having children. The lack of any explicit family policy or transfers to compensate
for such costs has reinforced that perception
Spain underwent the transition from the male breadwinner to the dual-earner family model somewhat later than other developed countries. Change was most intense in the period of strong economic and employment growth between 1995 and 2007, with a reversal observed as unemployment rose from early 2008. The percentage of 25-to 49-year-old women in paid employment climbed from 39 % in 1995 to 66 % in 2007, receding to 61 % in 2012. As a result of the employment crisis, while male single-earner families with children under 6 are estimated to have dropped by 22 %, female single-earner families leapt by 181 % and families with no earners by 162 %. At the same time, the number of dual-earner families dipped by 4 % (MorenoMínguez 2015 ). In the wake of the economic crisis, employment has become a scarce and highly valued resource, shaping couples' strategies for reconciling family life and careers when faced with the need to protect their sources of income.While policies to further equality between the sexes have long been in place (the fi rst equality plan was introduced in 1989) and have explicitly pursued the harmonisation of work and family life, that challenge has yet to be systematically and comprehensively addressed. Debates around the question have been public and sensitisation programmes have been formulated, often under the umbrella of European initiatives, although only partial measures have been adopted (Meil 2006b ;Wall and Escobedo 2009 )
Esta es la versión de autor del artículo publicado en: This is an author produced version of a paper published in: This article analyzes the effects of the number of siblings, their sex composition, and other individualization indicators intertwined with the development of a beanpole-type kin structure on exchanges among generations in Spain. The effects of this development vary depending on the point of view adopted: that of the parents or that of the adult children. Although this development increases the likelihood of not having daughters who continue to act as kin keepers, there are no clear signs of a weakening of intergenerational ties deriving from the development of a beanpole-type kin structure. The biggest threat for the density of intergenerational relationships derives not so much from this development but from the geographical dispersion of generations caused by the lack of professional and employment opportunities for the younger generations.
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