Gendering Family Policies in Post-Communist Europe

Saxonberg, Steven

doi:10.1057/9781137319395

Cited by 57 publications

(63 citation statements)

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“…7 Second, after a period in the 1950s and early 1960s, when mothers' inclusion in the workforce was attempted through a relatively short period of maternity leave and the provision of day care for all children, long leaves were seen by state socialist policy makers as a cheaper alternative to public day care services for infants (Haney, 2002;Fodor, 2003;Saxonberg, 2014).Third, state socialist maternalist policies were embedded in a strong discourse about children's psychological needs and focused entirely on the mother-child unit, de-emphasising the role of fathers (Adamik, 2000;Goven, 2000;Haney, 2002;Saxonberg, 2011Saxonberg, , 2014. Finally, the policies granted special rights to mothers and constituted them as a special group of employees:…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These arguments continued to influence Czech policy makers in the 1990s (Saxonberg et al, 2012;Saxonberg, 2014), and in the present, as reflected in the "National Conception for the Support of Families with Children", which outlines the family policy strategy of the Czech government (MOLSA, 2009). The document states that the provision of public childcare services for children under three is not a priority, and referring to paediatricians and child psychologists, claims that parental care is the best option for children in this age group.…”

Section: Policy Debates About Nurseriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The problem of analysing post-state socialist welfare states has been widely debated (see, for example, Saxonberg, 2000;Pascall and Lewis, 2004), and it has been acknowledged that post-state socialist policies challenge existing conceptual frameworks (Michel, 2006: 146). Over the past decade, several studies have compared the family and work-family policies of post-socialist countries, focusing on differences and similarities within this group (Fodor et al, 2002;Fodor, 2005;Saxonberg and Sirovatka, 2006;Saxonberg and Szelewa, 2007;Szelewa and Polakowski, 2008;Szelewa, 2010;Szikra, 2010;Szikra and Szelewa, 2010;Saxonberg 2014).This article aims to further our understanding of the post-state socialist work-family policy development in two countries, the Czech Republic and Hungary, which at first glance seem to have followed similar paths.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kindergartens are widely accepted in both countries with about 90% of children in the age group enrolled (Saxonberg, 2014). Under state socialism, nurseries were not uncommon in the two countries, however, the proportion of children enrolled never exceeded 20% of those under three in the Czech Republic, and 15% in Hungary.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the Czech Republic, the reduction in the number of nurseries continued until 2006, with the numbers having stagnated since: in 2011 only 0.5% of children under the age of 3 were enrolled in day nurseries (ÚZIS, 2011).The reduction in the number of nursery places was exacerbated by declining birth rates and parental leave regulations: parents receiving parental benefits were not allowed to take their children to public nurseries for more than five days a month. 16 Finally, as public nurseries are funded exclusively by local authorities, the fees are also established locally, and although fees vary, they are unaffordable to many parents (Saxonberg, 2014;Štěpánková and Jaklová, 2006;Svobodová, 2007;Hašková, 2010).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Public maternalism in the Czech Republic and Hungary

Kampichler¹,

Kispeter²

2014

Socio.hu

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This article compares the post-1989 development of work-family policies aimed at mothers of young children in two Visegrad countries, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The comparison draws on the conceptual framework of 'maternalism' and expands it by focusing on the similarities and differences between two welfare states which provide generous public support to the maternal care of young children; it also incorporates an analysis of policy and political documents. The paper argues that in the Czech Republic, public support is given exclusively to the maternal care of children under the age of three, while the Hungarian system offers basic public support to day care services as well. The discursive analysis has revealed the same pattern:Czech documents focus entirely on maternal care, though mothers are subsumed under the 'family', while Hungarian texts contain a wider range of discourses about childcare.

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Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Policy Debates About Nurseriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Public maternalism in the Czech Republic and Hungary

Kampichler¹,

Kispeter²

2014

Socio.hu

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Parenting, Gender and Work: A Sociological Perspective

Suwada

2021

Parenting and Work in Poland

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This chapter presents the issue of parenthood as a subject of sociological inquiry in the context of broader social and cultural changes. I demonstrate why parenthood should be perceived as a process that is strictly connected with social, cultural and institutional contexts. Keeping this in mind I argue that there is no one proper way of doing parenthood. The most important aspect here are the links between parenthood and paid work. I critically approach the concept of work/life balance that is vastly popular in contemporary social sciences, but in my opinion is not always adequate to describe parenting in a post-communist society. I propose to look at parenthood through the lenses of three types of work: care work, paid work and domestic work. I claim that such approach helps to grasp different ways of parenting in contemporary times, as well as to recognise persisting gender and economic inequalities.

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Paid Work and Parenting

Suwada

2021

Parenting and Work in Poland

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This chapter is devoted to the issue of paid work. Despite analyses dominating today that perceive paid work as an obstacle to parenting, I argue that paid work is an important obligation arising from parenthood. My analysis indicates that becoming a parent has consequences on how individuals perceive paid work. It becomes more important and there is a bigger focus on the level of earnings. Polish parents feel an enormous economic pressures in connection to having children. Yet the attitudes of men and women to paid work are different. In case of men there is a greater pressure to keep paid work and have a decent salary. Whereas women more often perceive paid work as a source of satisfaction. On the one hand, they also feel pressure to be active in the labour market and to bring money home, but on the other hand they confine more attention to the fact that paid work should be satisfactory. What is more, the chapter discusses these gender differences in the context of economic inequalities, as well as differences between the situation of single and coupled parents.

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Gendering Family Policies in Post-Communist Europe

Cited by 57 publications

References 0 publications

Public maternalism in the Czech Republic and Hungary

Public maternalism in the Czech Republic and Hungary

Parenting, Gender and Work: A Sociological Perspective

Paid Work and Parenting

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