Seminar Abstracts

Presented by Sabine Irbe

Author: Sabine Irbe, Coralie Wirtz, Kai Storm

Abstract

Research on child penalty shows that gender pay gap and mothers’ labour market participation are intricately intertwined. Thus, to explain pay gap better, we need to understand mothers’ participation in the labour market. To do this, this paper distinguishes between gender and motherhood norms when analysing mothers’ labour market participation. We argue that distinguishing between gender and motherhood norms is critical because both impact how far mothers may be able and willing to spend time apart from their children. This affects not just what kind of working arrangements mothers opt into, but also the pay they can expect. We analyse mothers’ employment rates in 127 countries in relation to factors such as unpaid care work, fertility, suffrage or ministerial positions. First, we find that, worldwide, there is a clear difference between how women (without children) and mothers participate in the labour market – and that this difference can meaningfully explain gender inequalities in terms of unequal pay. Secondly, our findings clearly indicate that improved gender equality for women in general does not automatically lead to better outcomes for mothers. Third, our analysis revealed that women’s political agency accumulates and might have a greater impact if other burdens, such as childcare, decrease.

Presented by Anna Helgøy

Author: Anna Nordnes Helgøy

Abstract

The ‘mental load’ — the organizational dimension of household labor — is highly gender unequal, whereby women have substantially higher loads compared to men. Exacerbated by parenthood, a high mental load has been shown to negatively affect key gender equality outcomes, such as political- and labor market participation. Equalizing the mental load between genders is therefore paramount in the pursuit of gender equality. This article argues that family policy attitudes represent what political action is in demand by those experiencing different levels of mental load inequality in their households, and is therefore an important starting point in countering this aspect of household gender inequality. Using three-wave Norwegian panel data, it examines whether within-person changes in the mental load lead to changes in family policy attitudes. Findings show that as the mental load increases for an individual, so does their opposition to optional familialism in family policy. This implies that one political action demanded by those experiencing mental load inequality is a family policy approach that allows for active father involvement measures.

Presented by Barbara Mataloni

Authors: Barbara Mataloni

Abstract

Across advanced economies demands for flexibility in work and reduced working hours, such as the four-day working week, are increasing in order for individuals to have more time for family and leisure. While in the ‘work-life balance’ literature considerable attention is devoted to the allocation of time to paid work and care work, the role of leisure is not systematically analysed. Against this background, I am currently working on a postdoc project proposal that seeks to fill this gap. The aim is to analyse gender differences in leisure especially after family formation across social classes and types of profession in four EU member states in a comparative perspective. The country cases for the empirical study are Austria, Denmark, Spain and Poland. The countries are selected following a most different systems design logic that considers the gendered work-life combinations characterising them. This presentation gives insights into the overall project idea as well as the specific work packages, which focus on (1) leisure and feelings of recognition, (2) the quality of leisure, (3) the timing of leisure, and (4) the role of leisure for the concept of ‘work-life balance’. In addition, the presentation will address synergies with the ‘AGILE work-life balance’ project based at Copenhagen Business School.

Presented by Simone Manfredi

Author: Simone Manfredi

Abstract

Background.

Social capital can drive local ability to meet community needs, both promoting citizen claim for public services and enabling local collaborative governance. Italy is an example of non-social investment reform without clear provision to tackle new social risks. An inadequate supply of childcare, a defamilisation instrument, is identified as a key factor explaining the coexistence of low female labour market participation and low birth rates. 

Objectives.

Exploiting Italian territorial variation, this study theorizes how and test whether social capital is an explaining variable in the divergent provision of public childcare services. 

Methods.

A regression analysis is held adopting the Italian provinces (NUTS-3 level) as the unit of analysis (n=107). The provision of public childcare services (dependant variable) is operationalized by the number of available public spot every 100 children aged 0-2. The social capital embedded within the community of a Province is operationalized by two composite indicators accounting for its bonding (strong “family” ties) and bridging (weak trust-based ties) dimensions. Additional control variables are included in the model. 

Results.

The computed proxies of social capital are good predictor of supply of public childcare at Italian province level. Controlling for female employment rate and average per-capita disposable income, bonding social capital exhibits a strong negative regression coefficient (-1.57) and bridging social capital a strong positive coefficient (+2.57), both statistically significant (p-value<0.05). 

Conclusions.

This study contributes to the understanding of the characteristics of the Italian North–South gap in the specific policy field of Early Childhood Education and Care. It introduces the concept of social capital to the social investment literature, theorizing and empirically showing how an uneven distribution of social capital predicts the uneven distribution of public childcare services. Future studies need to substantiate these preliminary findings by looking at demand side (individuals) and supply (institutional) side mechanisms.

Presented by Anna DiPalma

Author: Anna Di Palma

Abstract

This article explores the role of international organizations (IOs) in influencing domestic public sector digitalization reforms in the last two decades. While local-level studies have examined digitalization through the lens of municipal policy actors, this work fills a significant gap by focusing on the international dimension, particularly in the context of post-COVID-19 pressures for digitalization. Drawing on policy design theory and public digitalization literature, the article proposes a typology that categorizes orientations and degrees of influence IOs exert on domestic digitalization reforms. By analysing 139 official documents issued by UN, OECD and EU between 2000 and 2024, the study shows that IOs utilize a range of policy tools to promote specific understandings of public digitalizationwith varying levels of influence, depending on their political and legal mandate. It follows that conflicting views on domestic public digitalization in the international arena exert different pressure due to IOs’ financial power or institutional authority.This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how top-down policies shape domestic reforms, advocating for further national-level investigations into the actual effects of international public digitalization strategies.