Sharing the Caring - Universiteit Leiden

312 Pages·2006·3.7 MB·English

by  Anmarie Widener

Sharing the Caring
State, Family, and Gender Equality in
Parental Leave Policy

Anmarie J. Widener

SShhaarriinngg tthhee CCaarriinngg

Cover design: by Anmarie Widener, Dick Bensdorp, & Isaac Ferreira. Photos taken
by the author in front of the Dick Bruna Basis School (primary school),
Waddinxveen, Netherlands: parents pick up their children from school for the lunch
hour. Backdrop photo is of the Dutch government buildings, “de Buitenhof”, Den
Hague, Netherlands.

Sharing the Caring:

State, Family and Gender Equality in Parental Leave Policy

PROEFSCHRIFT

Ter verkrijging van
de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden,
op gezag van de Rector Magnificus Dr. D. D. Breimer,
hoogleraar in de faculteit der Wiskunde en
Natuurwetenschappen en die der Geneeskunde,
volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties
te verdedigen op Dinsdag 27 Juni 2006
klokke 11:15 uur.

Door

Anmarie J. Widener

Geboren te Richards-Gabaur AFB, Cass County, Missouri, USA, in 1969
Promotor:
Prof. Dr. Joyce Outshoorn

Overige Leden:

Dr. Saskia Keuzenkamp, Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau
Prof. Dr. Carla Risseeuw
Prof. Dr. Joop Schippers (Utrecht University)
Prof. Dr. David Lowery
Prof. Dr. Annemieke van Drenth
Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1: Introduction.................................................................................................................1

Chapter 2: American and Dutch Family Policies in Historical Context..................................15
2.1 Introduction......................................................................................................15
2.2 How Parental Leaves Evolved in the European Model...................................17
2.3 The Netherlands ..............................................................................................19
2.4 A Brief Historical Context for the Dutch Trend in Family Policies................20
2.4.1 Dutch Womens’ Movements...........................................................20
2.4.2 Part-time Work.................................................................................22
2.4.3 European Union Directives..............................................................23
2.5 The Dutch “Reconciliation” of Work and Family Life: a Woman’s Issue?....24
2.6 Unpaid Labor...................................................................................................26
2.7 Child Care in the Netherlands..........................................................................27
2.8 Dutch Parental Leave Schemas........................................................................29
2.9 Gendered Part-time Work in the Netherlands..................................................30
2.10 The Dutch “One and a Half Breadwinner” Model.........................................32
2.11 Family Policies in the United States..............................................................33
2.12 Lone Parents...................................................................................................36
2.13 Child Poverty.................................................................................................36
2.14 Fertility Rate..................................................................................................37
2.15 Child Care in the United States......................................................................38
2.16 A Brief History of Family Policies in the United States................................40
2.17 The Intersection of Class and Gender in U.S. Family Policies......................44
2.18 Conclusion.....................................................................................................45

Chapter 3: Important Factors that Help Parents Integrate Employment With Caregiving:
Statistical and Contextual Analyses.........................................................................49
3.1 Introduction......................................................................................................49
3.2 Hypothesis........................................................................................................50
3.3 Method.............................................................................................................50
3.4 Participants.......................................................................................................51
3.5 Instruments.......................................................................................................55
3.5.1 Face to Face Interviews.................................................................55
3.5.2 Parental Leave Inventory...............................................................56
3.5.3 World Health Organization Quality of Life-100...........................57
3.6 Results..............................................................................................................57
3.6.1 Data Analysis Organization...........................................................57
3.6.2 Working Hours...............................................................................57
3.6.3 Lifestyle Preferences......................................................................60
3.6.4 Part-time Versus Full-time Employment.......................................66
3.6.5 Child Care......................................................................................70
3.6.6 Parental Satisfaction with Parental Leave Policies........................72
3.6.7 Maternity Leave.............................................................................79
3.6.8 Paternity Leave..............................................................................84
3.6.9 Care Leave.....................................................................................87
3.6.10 Public Versus Private Sector Jobs.................................................88
3.6.11 Job Flexibility...............................................................................93
3.6.12 Partner Support.............................................................................94
3.6.13 Father Care Days...........................................................................97
3.6.14 Crittenden’s Tenets.....................................................................101
3.6.15 Quality of Life.............................................................................105
3.6.16 Conclusion..................................................................................106

Chapter 4: Implications for Gender Equality in Fathers Who Give Care............................109
4.1 Introduction....................................................................................................109
4.2 Caring Fathers in the United States and the Netherlands..............................110
4.3 US and Dutch Caring Fathers in this Study...................................................112
4.4 Two Types of Fathers’ Caregiving Practices.................................................112
4.5 Home Alone Versus Home Alone Traditional...............................................114
4.6 Home Alone...................................................................................................115
4.7 Home Alone Traditional................................................................................119
4.8 Organizational Culture and Family Policies..................................................121
4.9 Conclusion.....................................................................................................125

Chapter 5: The Parenthood Wall..............................................................................................127
5.1 Introduction....................................................................................................127
5.2 The Maternal Wall.........................................................................................130
5.3 Babies Don’t Mesh with Business.................................................................131
5.4 Child Care Walls............................................................................................135
5.5 Sympathetic Versus Unsympathetic Employers............................................137
5.6 Occupational Sex Segregation.......................................................................142
5.7 The Biological Clock & the Career Clock: Ticking Women Out of
Tenure Track Positions..................................................................................145
5.8 The Rhetoric of Choice..................................................................................149
5.9 Gender Equality and the Welfare State..........................................................152
5.10 Conclusion....................................................................................................154

Chapter 6: Conclusion................................................................................................................159
6.1 Introduction....................................................................................................159
6.2 The Dutch Versus the American Welfare State.............................................160
6.3 Why the United States Needs to Emulate the European Model....................162
6.4 Organizational Culture and Gender Equity....................................................166
6.5 Contributions and Limitations of this Study..................................................169
6.6 Concluding Remarks......................................................................................170

Appendix I: Tables ....................................................................................................................173

Labour Force Statistics for 18 OECD Countries...................................................173
Part-time Employment in the EU, Japan, and the U.S...........................................174
Employment Rates of Married Women with Children Under Six.........................175
Total Fertility Rate in Selected Countries, 1960-2000..........................................176
Mean Age of Women at Birth of First Child 1960-2000.......................................177
Appendix II: Statistical Tables..................................................................................................178

WHO-QOL 100 Subscales Statistical Analyses Tables.........................................178
Crittenden Questions Statistical Anlysis................................................................183

Appendix III: Instruments.........................................................................................................192

Face to Face Interview...........................................................................................192
U.S.WHO-QOL 100 Subscales..............................................................................196
Dutch WHO-QOL 100 Subscales..........................................................................205
Parental Leave Inventory Dutch Version...............................................................213
Parental Leave Inventory U.S. Version.................................................................245

References ....................................................................................................................277

Samenvatting ....................................................................................................................289

Biography of Author ....................................................................................................................297