Work–Family Articulation Policies in Portugal and Gender Equality: Advances and Challenges

Abstract

Portugal has been described as a singular case in terms of the participation of women in the labour market and work–life balance policies. Unlike the other so-called Southern European countries, where a belated and somewhat slower move away from the male breadwinner model has been found, Portugal stands out from the other EU member states with its relatively high rate of female employment and the prevalence of the dual-earner model based on continuous and fundamentally full-time employment. Moreover, the “early return to full-time work and a gender equality oriented model” calls for a separate analysis of this country’s case. In addition to providing a comprehensive overview of the singularities of Portugal’s employment patterns and work–family articulation policies, this article substantially adds to the existing literature by bringing new analytical angles to the debate. The intention is therefore to shed light on the political discourses that fuelled the policy debate throughout the three decades following Portugal’s transition to democracy, up until the latest and most decisive policy changes. This article also examines the key social actors’ views about the political process sustaining the development of policies in this area and identifies the major players promoting the most progressive legislative advances in the country.

Intervir na (des)igualdade de género nas organizações do Alto Minho – o projeto bridGEs

“…No contexto europeu, Portugal tem, desde 1960, uma tradição de emprego de mulheres relativamente alta, sobretudo em tempo integral, o que se deve a uma combinação de fatores, tais como o recrutamento militar obrigatório de homens para a guerra colonial nos países africanos, e o elevado nível dos fluxos de emigração, que levaram a uma escassez de trabalhadores do sexo masculino (Casaca, 2012;Marques et al, 2021). Especificamente, a percentagem de mulheres no mundo do trabalho, em Portugal, passou de 13.1% em 1960 para 36.1% em 1976 .…”

“…Apesar de todos os avanços ao longo das últimas décadas ao nível das políticas, legislação e práticas, a desigualdade de género no trabalho continua sendo uma realidade em todo o mundo (Marques et al, 2021;Pinheiro & Casaca, 2020). As mulheres permanecem em desvantagem em todos os indicadores laborais e os desafios em termos de discriminação, seja ela mais explicita ou subtil, são imensos.…”

Hierarchical spatial interactions in the Aveiro-Ílhavo housing market Retrieving W from data under an asymmetrical assumption

“…𝑤𝑤 [𝑘𝑘]𝑖𝑖 are the parameters to be estimated, corresponding to estimations for each of the elements of the spatial weights matrix. Note that, according to the cross-sectional specification adopted in this work, the estimation of the J x J cross-spatial variance-covariance matrix (Γ ) is based on a data engineering procedure -a matching of similar dwellings in each TU -analogous to the mechanism proposed by Marques (2012).…”

“…In hedonic price models (HPM), which provide a common framework to study housing markets (Rosen, 1974), the close connection between housing and territorial features led to space emerging as an important factor (Bowen et al, 2001;Marques, 2012). But incorporating space in housing market analysis also raises important specification challenges (Can, 1992).…”

Breastfeeding experiences and women's self-concept: Negotiations and dilemmas in the transition to motherhood

“…Female employment is continuous, as most women do not interrupt their professional activity after becoming mothers. Also, Portugal stands out from other EU countries with the prevalence of a dual-earner model fundamentally based on full-time employment (Marques et al, 2021 ): while, in Portugal, female part-time employment did not go beyond 9.8% in 2021, for EU27, the figure was about 30%. This expressive participation of women in the labor force cannot be dissociated, on the one hand, from the persistence of an economy based on low wages (which makes particularly difficult to families to economically sustain the households with just one salary), and, on the other hand, from the importance that Portuguese women attribute to their economic independence.…”