The economic crisis and changes in work–family arrangements in six European countries

Abstract

Over the past decades, there has been a substantial increase in female labour force participation, and the number of dual-earner and female-earner households has risen throughout western countries. However, the recent economic crisis has caused large losses in employment for both women and men, potentially yielding unexpected consequences for the evolution of work-family arrangements. This article carries out a comparative analysis of the relationship between the 2008/2009 economic crisis and work-family arrangements in Europe. Using data for six countries from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, this article fills a gap in the literature by addressing three issues: (1) whether work-family arrangements have changed from before to after the beginning of the economic downturn in countries with different gender and welfare regimes (Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Sweden and the United Kingdom), (2) whether changes in work-family arrangements have occurred at different levels of the social strata and (3) whether couples have moved from dual-earner to male-or female-breadwinner. The results indicate changes in work-family arrangements in those countries worst hit by the economic crisis, Greece and Spain, where dual-earner and male-breadwinner households have decreased and no-earner and femalemain-earner households have increased. Moreover, the results show that in these two countries, all social strata-proxied through women's level of education-have been affected by the crisis. In contrast, only moderate changes in work-family arrangements among all women can be observed in countries less hit by the economic downturn. The findings for the two southern European countries are troubling, as the increases in no-earner and female-breadwinner households point to worsening economic conditions throughout the population and to a halt in the process that for several decades had been leading to more equality in the distribution of employment between genders.

Work–family arrangements and the crisis in Spain: Balkanized gender contracts?

“…Whereas cuts to public sector pay and employment are more likely to affect professional women, weaker employment protections, lower coverage of collective bargaining and limited childcare services are more likely to impact women in lower occupations (Távora & Rodríguez‐Modroño, 2018). Looking at the differences in WFA by women's education levels, recent studies have argued that all social groups suffered similarly from the economic crisis in Spain (Dotti Sani, 2018). Instead, by drawing on a measure of occupational classification for both partners, this article offers a more nuanced and better understanding of how the balkanization of gender contracts in Spain may have become more entrenched with the reduction of employment opportunities.…”

“…Comparative research on employment and the family has largely focused on typologies of policy regimes and the identification of dominant types of work–family arrangements (WFA), thereby underestimating within‐country diversity. A few studies have recently shown how these internal differences often reflect variation across socioeconomic groups (Dotti Sani, 2018; Hook, 2015; Sánchez‐Mira & O'Reilly, 2019). However, these studies have often either remained rather descriptive (Dotti Sani, 2018) or have discussed their findings under the frame of the welfare‐regime literature (Hook, 2015).…”

“…A few studies have recently shown how these internal differences often reflect variation across socioeconomic groups (Dotti Sani, 2018; Hook, 2015; Sánchez‐Mira & O'Reilly, 2019). However, these studies have often either remained rather descriptive (Dotti Sani, 2018) or have discussed their findings under the frame of the welfare‐regime literature (Hook, 2015). They have thus ignored theoretical discussions on labour market segmentation and institutional dualism that could help advance our understanding of how WFA polarize along social divisions (Dingeldey, 2017; Gottfried, 2013; O'Reilly & Nazio, 2014).…”

“…They have thus ignored theoretical discussions on labour market segmentation and institutional dualism that could help advance our understanding of how WFA polarize along social divisions (Dingeldey, 2017; Gottfried, 2013; O'Reilly & Nazio, 2014). Moreover, the mentioned studies have looked at differences by educational attainment (Dotti Sani, 2018; Hook, 2015), arguing that occupational classifications are more directly affected by the idiosyncratic construction of occupational status within countries (Sánchez‐Mira & O'Reilly, 2019). While this is certainly a useful strategy for cross‐national comparisons, using a measure of occupational structure allows for a closer analysis of the effects that segmented labour markets and the regulation of work have on the household organization of labour and how these are rooted in specific historical and societal characteristics.…”

“…At the household level, dual‐earner couples increased from 31 per cent of the population in 1992 to 43 per cent in 2000 and exceeded 57 per cent in 2007 (Franco & Winqvist, 2002; Sánchez‐Mira, 2016). The majority of Spanish households fall either into the categories of both full‐time (BFT) or MBW arrangements, reflecting a polarization along women's educational level (Dotti Sani, 2018; Hook, 2015; Sánchez‐Mira & O'Reilly, 2019). Spain is also one of the countries that suffered the most job losses due to the economic crisis and is a paradigmatic example of the dynamics of so‐called he‐cession and sh(e)‐austerity (Karamessini & Rubery, 2014; Périvier, 2018).…”