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

以前关于公共政策对产妇就业的影响的研究结果不一致，产妇就业模式存在大量无法解释的差异，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参与的重要性。然而，很少有研究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，以及公司的工作-家庭兼顾政策对产妇就业的影响。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Kurowskas对Amartya Sens能力方法的改编，以比较分析家庭政策（Kurowska 2016 a）。这一框架使人们能够概念化为协调工作与家庭而设计的不同手段与观察到的母亲的工作参与之间的关系，并特别注重文化背景的作用。我们的项目提案旨在探讨文化背景作为一个转换因素（森1999年）在缓和的影响，公共儿童保育政策和灵活的工作安排在公司层面上的母亲（能力）的工作参与，工作与家庭的协调和工作与生活的平衡的成就。在探讨文化背景的影响时，我们将特别关注对产妇就业/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，即用于实现有价值的功能的两种手段（Sen，1999年），如工作参与、工作与家庭的协调以及工作与生活的平衡。为此，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.