Gender equality and work–family conflict from a cross-national perspective

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between gender ideology at the individual level, gender equality at the country level, and women and men’s experiences of work interference with family (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW). We use data from the 2012 International Social Survey Programme as well as the 2011 to 2015 Human Development Reports. Our sample consists of 24,547 respondents from 37 countries. Based on multilevel mixed-effects logistic models, we find that women are more likely than men to experience WIF and FIW. At the individual level, traditional gender ideology positively predicts WIF and FIW. Women and men who reside in more gender-unequal countries have a higher likelihood of FIW while men in these contexts also are more likely to experience WIF. Societal gender inequality is more consequential for those who hold less traditional gender ideology. In conclusion, gender egalitarianism at the individual level and gender equality at the country level are both associated with less WIF and FIW. Policies that seek to address work–family balance should incorporate measures to promote gender equality.

Shouldering a double burden: the cultural stigma of the dogma of gender role ideology and its impact on work–family conflict

“…Studies on work–family conflict (WFC) and gender have been received growing attention in recent years (Abeysekera and Gahan, 2019; Kaufman and Taniguchi, 2020; Magadley, 2019; Powell et al , 2019; Rhee et al , 2020; Smith et al , 2018; Zhao et al , 2019). WFC is “a condition that arises when participation in either role (work and non-work) is incompatible with participation in the other role” (Lobel, 1991, p. 509).…”

“…Gutek et al , 1991), and family culture is “patriarchal”: the men's “headship” and women's “submission” (Hofstede et al , 2010). Nevertheless, mostly in economically developed countries, the dogma of traditional gender role ideology has eroded: women have made great inroads into the labour market (Kaufman and Taniguchi, 2020; Ng and Sears, 2017; Powell et al , 2019) owing to the higher level of educational attainment and gender equality at the workplace (Minnotte et al , 2013; Powell et al , 2019). Of late, Ng and Sears (2017) provide strong evidence drawing on the resource dependency theory that recruiting and promoting women pave the way for gaining the marketplace; nonetheless, balancing work–family has been challenging.…”

Guest editorial

“…Further, we need to know how specific cultural orientation in the South Asian context affects the meaning of work, life and interactions between them. How do the cultural values in these countries, such as vertical collectivism (Billing et al, 2014), gender roles (Ollo-L opez and Goñi-Legaz, 2017), gender egalitarianism (Kaufman and Taniguchi, 2019;Rajadhyaksha, 2020) and time orientation (Billing et al, 2009) help us understand work-family interface? These comments and questions hint at the dynamics and underlying complexities.…”

Antecedents of Perceived Job Commitment among Employees of Local Government in Ilesha Metropolis

“…Employees' work-family conflicts differ due to demographic factors. Researches, that mainly target gender differences, prove that the extent of conflict amongst women is way above men (Haines, Bilodeau, Demers, Marchand, Beauregard, Durand, & Blanc, 2019;Kaufman, & Taniguchi, 2019). Furthermore, various family specialties like the number of kids and their ages, the dearth of support amongst couples in way of life and the dearth of distributing the responsibilities of kid care are stated to be some of the other reasons for work-family conflict (Dolson & Deemer, 2020;Badawy & Schieman, 2020).…”