Female employment and elderly care: the role of care policies and culture in 21 European countries

Manuela Naldini, Emmanuele Pavolini and Cristina Solera
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Manuela Naldini: University of Turin and Collegio Carlo Alberto, Italy
Emmanuele Pavolini: University of Macerata, Italy
Cristina Solera: University of Turin, Italy

Work, Employment & Society, 2016, vol. 30, issue 4, 607-630

Abstract: To what extent and in what ways do welfare state policies and cultural values affect the employment patterns of mid-life women with care responsibilities toward a frail parent? The study draws on Eurobarometer micro-data integrated with country-level information to respond to this question. Performing a multilevel analysis across 21 European countries, it considers macro factors that influence the decisions of mid-life women to give up or reduce paid work in order to care for a frail elderly parent. The results show that, while the overall level of expenditure on long-term care is not influential, settings characterized by limited formal care services, and strong norms with regard to intergenerational obligations, have a negative impact on women’s attachment to the labour market. Policies and cultural factors also influence the extent to which women are polarized: in more defamilialized countries, regardless of their level of education, female carers rarely reduce their level of employment.

Keywords: elderly care; intergenerational obligations; long-term care; women’s employment; work–family reconciliation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:woemps:v:30:y:2016:i:4:p:607-630

DOI: 10.1177/0950017015625602

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