WorkFamReC - State and company-level work-family reconciliation policies and maternal employment. An analysis from a capability approach perspective

先前关于公共政策对孕产妇就业影响的研究结果不一致，以及孕产妇就业模式存在无法解释的巨大差异，这些都需要其他解释。最近越来越多的文献从理论上强调了文化背景对母亲工作投入的重要性。然而，分析文化背景的不同方面与公共政策的影响之间的相互作用效应的研究，以及公司工作与家庭协调政策对母亲就业的影响，都是稀缺的。在我们的项目中，我们的目标是为这方面的文献做出贡献。我们的基本理论框架是基于Kurowska对Amartya Sens能力方法的适应性家庭政策比较分析（Kurowska 2016a）。这一框架使我们能够概念化为工作-家庭和解而设计的不同手段与观察到的母亲的工作投入之间的关系，特别关注文化背景的作用。我们的项目提案旨在探索文化背景作为转换因素的作用（Sen 1999），以缓和公共托儿政策和公司层面灵活的工作安排对母亲（能力）工作投入、工作-家庭和解和工作-生活平衡成就的影响。在探讨文化背景的影响时，我们将特别关注对母亲就业/育儿/育儿正统观念和工作环境的态度。我们还将研究非正式和正式儿童保育之间的关系，即用于实现有价值功能的两种类型的手段（Sen 1999），例如工作投入，工作-家庭和解和工作-生活平衡。这样做，我们将特别注意适当的估计和识别策略。

Inconsistent results of previous research on the impact of public policies on maternal employment as well as large unexplained variance in maternal employment patterns call for alternative explanations. A recently growing body of literature has theoretically highlighted the importance of the cultural context for maternal work engagement. Nevertheless, there is scarcity of studies which analyse the interaction effects between different aspects of cultural context and the impact of public policies, as well as company work-family reconciliation policies on maternal employment. In our project we aim to contribute to the literature in this respect. Our basic theoretical framework is based on Kurowskas adaptation of Amartya Sens Capability Approach to comparative analysis of family policies (Kurowska 2016a). This framework enables to conceptualize the relationships between different means designed for work-family reconciliation and the observed work engagement of mothers, with a particular focus on the role of cultural context. Our project proposal aims to explore the role of cultural context as a converting factor (Sen 1999) in moderating the impact of public childcare policy and flexible working arrangements at the company level on maternal (capability for) work engagement, work-family reconciliation and work-life balance achievement. When exploring the impact of cultural context, we will particularly focus on attitudes towards maternal employment/parenting/childcare orthodoxies and working environment. We will also look at the relationships between informal and formal childcare, i.e. two types of means which are used to achieve the valued functionings (Sen 1999), such as work engagement, work-family reconciliation and work-life balance. Doing so, we will pay particular attention to appropriate estimation and identification strategies.