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four - Comparing transitions to motherhood across contexts
- Edited by Ann Nilsen, Universitetet i Bergen, Norway, Julia Brannen, University College London, Suzan Lewis, Middlesex University
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- Book:
- Transitions to Parenthood in Europe
- Published by:
- Bristol University Press
- Published online:
- 01 September 2022
- Print publication:
- 18 April 2012, pp 41-66
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Summary
Introduction
As the average age of the birth of the first child has increased significantly for women in most European countries, and the transition period between youth and adulthood for many has been prolonged, the transition to motherhood must be seen in relation to other life course trajectories and discussed with reference to social class and educational level, as well as institutional arrangements such as welfare provision, workplace regulations and systems of education in national contexts. This chapter therefore examines and compares different types of trajectories and transitions to motherhood. It takes a biographical case approach and analyses selected cases of mothers from four of the seven countries in the study. In order to give ‘thick descriptions’ (Geertz 2000 [1973]) of individual cases many layers of empirical context are brought to bear on the analysis.
Transition to motherhood in context
Women's average age at birth of the first child varied between the seven countries. Figures from 1999 show that Bulgaria has the lowest age, at approximately 25 years, whereas the Netherlands and Sweden have an average age at nearly 30 (Fagnani et al, 2004, pp 113-14). The tendency for European women to become mothers relatively late in the life course compared to a few decades ago must be seen in relation to the extended period of education that has become common in most countries. There are still persistent class divisions with respect to length and level of higher education: middle-class young people have more education than young people of working-class background. Women with little or no higher education tend to become mothers earlier in the life course. This is a trend across all countries (Fagnani et al, 2004, pp 113-14).
The transition to motherhood typically follows a period of cohabitation and/or marriage and finding a house or a flat in which to ‘settle down’ and establish a family. In some countries, particularly in Southern and Eastern Europe, marriage and parenthood often happen while living in the parental home before the young couple is able to move to independent housing (Kovacheva, 2000; Roberts, 2009).
In this chapter we have chosen to focus on cases from four countries only. These are selected with reference to the discussion of historical context in Chapter Two. The layers of context in which individual lives unfold need to be understood within a comparative macro-level framework. The four countries cover the main dividing lines outlined in Chapter Two: the former Eastern bloc is represented by Bulgaria, a Scandinavian social democratic system represented by Norway, a neoliberal government by the UK and a new Southern European democracy by Portugal. Discussion of and comparisons in the transition to motherhood follow the framework provided by a life course perspective, thus the timing and scheduling of motherhood in relation to other life course phases and transitions is described first. Workplace differences in terms of private or public sector employment have been discussed elsewhere (Lewis et al, 2009) and will not be the focus of the following discussion.
five - Comparing transitions to fatherhood across contexts
- Edited by Ann Nilsen, Universitetet i Bergen, Norway, Julia Brannen, University College London, Suzan Lewis, Middlesex University
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- Book:
- Transitions to Parenthood in Europe
- Published by:
- Bristol University Press
- Published online:
- 01 September 2022
- Print publication:
- 18 April 2012, pp 67-88
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Summary
Introduction: transitions to fatherhood in context
Expectations of men as parents have changed over the last century, from the traditional position of the distant breadwinner to a more equal and nurturing father (Plantin et al, 2003; Edwards et al, 2009). As well as breadwinning, caring activities and time spent with children – forms of emotional work – are important dimensions of fathering that can have an impact on child development and family harmony (Coltrane, 1996; Lamb and Lewis, 2004; Dermott, 2008).
As discussed in Chapter Two, European society has been marked by major social change over the past 50 years: the rise of the Women's Movement, an increase in two-income families alongside increases in women's labour force participation, the introduction of parental leave, and shifting marriage and divorce patterns. In this context there is a good deal of discussion about the ‘new fatherhood’ that has become a political issue in some countries (Hobson and Morgan, 2002). Men's increasing interest in fathering has been identified by researchers in different countries (Brandth and Kvande, 2003; Duyvendak and Stavenuiter, 2004; Brannen and Nilsen, 2006). For example, Hobson and Fahlén (2009), drawing on the European Social Survey (ESS) for 2004, show how the vast majority of fathers think that reconciling work and family life is a high priority. Many fathers also wanted to reduce their working hours substantially in favour of more time with their families, although this was not always reflected in actual behaviour. However, despite whether men work full time or reduce their work time, they were still deeply emotionally engaged in their children. In Miller's (2011) interview study the men reported very strong ties to their children and showed a greater commitment to daily practices of hands-on caring than ever before. These attitudes have also gradually started to affect organisations’ policies and practices for fathers (Haas and Hwang, 2009). However, in recent years arguments about the ‘business case‘, emphasising efficiency and organisational change, have changed the debate: ‘greedy organisations’ are challenging both modern motherhood and fatherhood.
There are significant differences among welfare policies aimed at fathers between the countries in the study (Fagnani et al, 2004; see Chapter Two, this volume).
ten - Changing contexts, enduring roles? Working parents in Portuguese public and private sector organisations
- Edited by Suzan Lewis, Middlesex University, Julia Brannen, University College London, Ann Nilsen, Universitetet i Bergen
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- Book:
- Work, Families and Organisations in Transition
- Published by:
- Bristol University Press
- Published online:
- 16 July 2022
- Print publication:
- 22 July 2009, pp 149-166
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Summary
This chapter discusses the two organisational case studies that took place in Portugal, one in the public sector and the other in a private company. It compares the two organisational contexts in terms of changes, their prevailing labour policies and practices and the way in which working parents with young children perceive their working and family lives. Before comparing the two organisational case studies, the chapter begins with a reference to the political, social and economic changes that Portuguese society has undergone in the last 40 years and the policies regulating labour, supporting the family and defining forms of childcare.
Portuguese pathways to modernity
The working parents who took part in the case studies were born in the 1970s, a decade marked by profound change. Up until and including the 1960s, Portugal was characterised by an agriculture-based economy, traditional cultural patterns and an authoritarian political system, including the exploitation of large colonies in Africa. In the 1970s, this system collapsed and a radical opening-up of all these spheres occurred.
In April 1974, a revolution brought democracy and Portugal experienced major structural changes. The Portuguese Constitution1 defined the new legal framework for the changes to be made in the country. Family law was changed and the concept of the male breadwinner was abolished. Both members of a couple now had the same rights and obligations and both parents were equally responsible for supporting and caring for their children. The Constitution also promoted equal access to education and work.
Inspired by the ambition of constructing a socialist regime, this led to the nationalisation of a significant number of companies. This process culminated in a democratic capitalist regime, in which different layers of modernity and tradition continue to coexist. Broadly speaking, we may describe these structural changes as the movement from a traditional social system towards modernity (da Costa and Machado, 2000). This has happened through a set of diffuse processes taking place in new phases of modernity, characterised by global networking, deregulated financial and labour markets, and new inequalities and risks (Boltanski and Chiappello, 1996; Castells, 1996; Esping-Andersen, 1996; Beck, 2000).