Public attitudes and gender policy regimes: coherence and stability in hard times – Jing Guo and Neil Gilbert

Thèmes abordés

Esping-Andersen - gender issue - Jing Guo and Neil Gilbert

Résumé du document

In this article, Jing Guo and Neil Gilbert are trying to assess the different types of welfare under the prism of the gender issue, widening Esping-Andersen's perspective which was focused on the male bread-winner; such analysis seems to be no more relevant given the recent move toward gender equality in the Western countries. They will thus assess the efficiency of gender equality-oriented policies in the midst of the welfare state. They first distinguish three models within Western Europe: the strong male-breadwinner model (e.g. Britain), the modified male-breadwinner model (e.g. France) and the dual-breadwinner model (e.g. Sweden). The difference is made according to the degree of difference between the genders in terms of State help to work.

It is interesting to notice that such map is actually very similar Esping-Andersen's one, what he managed to prove by adding the criteria of de-familialisation. The authors then move on to Worpi's classification which is actually very similar to the first one. Those attempts to classify the welfare states according to the gender criteria actually teaches us that two ways of gender welfare are currently in use in Western Europe. One way tends to support the nuclear family without gender distinction but with only one breadwinner, while the other stands for a dual-earner model which implies a deep modification of the pre-existing social standards.

Extraits

[...] They demonstrate a correlation between the type of regime and the people's inclination towards either traditionalism (Southern Europe and liberal regimes) or gender equality (Social democratic model) in times of scarcity. Therefore, it is possible to understand that such state of mind would most likely be reflected into the gender related policies within the panel of studied countries. On the other hand, one would say that this could work on the other way; people's mind may be conditioned by the possibilities offered by the State (and thus by the corresponding welfare regime) and the way it shapes their lives. [...]

[...] It is interesting to recall that Inglehart's value-shift theory teaches us that post-materialist ideals (such as gender equality) are more likely to develop during such times. Nonetheless, since 2007 our economies are going through a crisis which was first financial with the subprimes crisis leading to the fall of several important banks such as Lehman Brothers, and has now moved to a sovereign debt crisis, leading to a fall of the economic growth and to a rise of the unemployment in the Western countries. Abundance is thus gone. But what about the move towards gender equality in the public policies? [...]

[...] Public attitudes and gender policy regimes: coherence and stability in hard times Jing Guo and Neil Gilbert In this article, Jing Guo and Neil Gilbert are trying to assess the different types of welfare under the prism of the gender issue, widening Esping-Andersen's perspective which was focused on the male bread-winner; such analysis seems to be no more relevant given the recent move toward gender equality in the Western countries. They will thus assess the efficiency of gender equality-oriented policies in the midst of the welfare state. [...]