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Family Friendly Policies and Gender Equality in Europe

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Family Friendly Policies and Gender Equality in Europe SOCIAL RESEARCH CENTER, VYTAUTAS MAGNUS UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR EQUALITY ADVANCEMENT Between Paid and Unpaid Work: Family Friendly Policies and Gender Equality in Europe Edited by Jolanta Reingardiene Vilnius, 2006 2 3 On Reconciliation of Gender Equality and Daily Routines in Iceland Gísli Hrafn Atlason INTRODUCTION to Eurostat (2006) then, 2.1 is considered to be a replace- ment level, so Turkey was the only nation in 2004 who Iceland has Europe’s highest participation in the labour could be considered on a replacement level with 2.20 market, according to Eurostat. children born alive to a woman during her lifetime. The The employment rate in Iceland was in total 83.8% fertility rate was 2.03 in Iceland in 2004 according to the among the persons aged 16-64 in 2005. This counts same figures but lower in Denmark (1.78), Italy (1.33) both for males and females, but the employment rate and Lithuania (1.26). The figures from Iceland look good among males was 86.9% and 80.6% among females in on the paper, but the individuals behind these figures 2005 (Eurostat 2006). The gap between male and female are not experiencing the same success in their everyday employment rate is in fact closing, so one could at least life, as they are facing problems on reconciling their assume that the “housekeeper-breadwinner” role model paid work in the labour market and the unpaid work has been dead for quite some time, at least when reading at home. the figures. Employment rate among males has been very high for the last 100 years, but female employment rate RESEARCH METHODOLOGY began to grow around 1960 and has been growing since The analysis is based on the results of qualitative and then. It should be noted that marriage status does not quantitative research. The quantitative survey was have any effect on participation in the labour market. conducted by IMG Gallup in May 2006. Six questions The percentage of married and unmarried women who were asked and the sample size was 1091 parents of are active in the labour market is equally high (Gíslason, both sexes. The same six questions were also asked in Ingólfur 2006). In fact, the growth of employment rate the surveys in Denmark, Italy and Lithuania and are among women around 1960 was mostly based on mar- comparable between Iceland, Italy and Lithuania, as the ried women´s participation. Married women started to same methods were used in conducting the surveys. join the labour market during that time. Some of the questions were also asked in 1995 in a The fertility rate in Iceland is Europe’s second highest, survey conducted by Gallup, so there are also possibili- where only Turkey has a higher fertility rate. According ties of comparing the attitudes or a change in attitudes. 4 BETWEEN PAID AND UNPAID WORK: FAMILY FRIENDLY POLICIES AND GENDER EQUALITY IN EUROPE The parents were living together, working outside the them at their home I usually had a chat with the couple home and had children between the age of 0-10 years together, then interviews with them separately and again (Ragnarsdóttir, Ásdís G., Valdimarsdóttir, Sóley and had an informal chat after the interviews. Thorvaldsson, Matthías 2006). The qualitative research was based on separated STRESSFUL SOCIETY interviews with couples with children and working While participation in the labour market and the fertility outside the home. The qualitative part was also based rate is relatively high in Iceland we can also see that peo- on interviews with employers from different sectors of ple are at the same time experiencing quite much stress the labour market. Nine couples from different sectors in their lives. Figure 1 is based on one of the questions were interviewed. They were different in many aspects: Gallup asked in the survey formerly mentioned. came from different employment sectors and different age groups, had different number of children and so on. Almost 90% of those who were asked said that work We also tried to choose different households or different responsibilities clashed sometimes or often with family families, as some of the couples were both parents of all responsibilities, and there was not a valid difference their children while other couples had children they between males and females. When comparing these were both parents of but also had children from former numbers with those from other countries, the figures relationships. Some people chose to call the latter family were similar in Iceland and Denmark, but more people form “the unclear family”, referring to families with “my in Italy and Lithuania said that work and family life children, your children and our children”, as one of the did not clash at all. It is though important to note that informants described his family form. Almost all of the the Danish survey was conducted in a slightly different couples were living in Reykjavík and its surroundings; way, so the comparison is not valid. In Italy, 33% of the Reykjavík is the capital city in Iceland. The interviews females and 37.4% of the males said that work and family were conducted in June and July 2006 in order to use life did not clash at all. In Lithuania, 40% of the females the survey as the background information and go deeper and 35% of the males said the same thing. There is also into some of the aspects, asked in the survey. Some of the more difference between the sexes in these answers as, for informants mentioned that the summertime was maybe example, far more women in Italy experienced that work not as stressful as other months during the year as vaca- obligation did often clash with family obligation. 20% of tions were coming up. The interviews were conducted the women in the survey in Italy experienced this, while wherever the informants could meet, sometimes at their only 12% of the men did. Maybe female employment rate home and sometimes at their workplace. When meeting in Italy has something to do with this difference. While Figure 1: “Do work responsibilities clash with family responsibilities?” Not at all Yes, often Yes, sometimes 12% 17% 71% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Source: IMG Gallup 2006. 5 employment rate among males in Italy was almost 70% made such contracts regarding their lives as they did. in 2005, the employment rate among females was only In another interview a younger couple used almost the 45% in 2005. Employment rate among women has been same words when describing their ongoing situation. growing rapidly in Italy for the last ten years (Eurostat They were not happy with their life and relationship but 2006). In a way this is a new situation for women in had only recently started to talk about this situation and Italy, that is, doing paid work outside the home and at were in the first phase of making contracts around their the same time the unpaid work at the home; so this new daily routines. Although they had not found solutions situation presumably means more unbalanced life for yet, they were thinking in similar directions on that he women than for men. should start to work less outside the home and spend The interviews with the couples in Iceland underlined more time within the home and she should try to focus this, that is, most of the couples interviewed said that a bit more on her career in order to have a more fruitful work responsibilities clashed often or sometimes with life outside the family. family responsibilities and all the couples said that at The remaining couples had similar stories on contracts some point in their life they had to struggle when trying between them but none of them had this discussion in to reconcile work and family life. The couples can be their first months of their relationship or in their court- divided into two groups. Those who are constantly facing ship. This discussion came later, after several years and at much stress and those who formerly faced much stress least one child. One couple made a contract on changing but had changed their lives in order to live a less stressful their work. They were both working in shifts and had life. Couple negotiation was crucial in this transforma- almost no time together as she was doing night shifts tion as they made contracts on things around the house- and he was doing day and evening shifts. They said that work, childcare and other daily routines. As an example, their time together was when they met on the doorstep, one couple both in their mid forties had made several when one of them was on the way to work and the other contracts on daily routines. Formerly the wife did most was on the way home from work. In the end they decided of the things at home while the husband worked much to start looking for new jobs for themselves and the first outside the home with late hours at the workplace. By one to get a new job would change. Another couple, both doing contracts around the housework and work outside of them almost 30 years old, were arguing about having the home today they are facing much better times. When another child. They had one and the husband wanted describing the former situation the wife said: “At the time them to have another one but she did not want to delay I was not happy, this was not the life I had expected when her studies because of that.
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