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I wonder how much of this is related to parental leave policy versus generic social safety net. Countries with a strong safety net also have generous maternity

I wonder how much of this is related to parental leave policy versus generic social safety net. Countries with a strong safety net also have generous maternity leave but are behind on paternity. I imagine that at a large scale this does make many companies slightly less likely to hire women, and families much more likely to have the mother take time away from her job. The ultimate effect, albeit in a warm and fuzzy way, could be to deemphasize women’s careers by normalizing the idea that it’s best if you stay home with the kids. I don't suppose that this could have a larger effect than the gender inequality in many countries lacking a social safety net, but it could be a contributing factor. The idea that women, given the choice, generally would rather prioritize motherhood seems totally plausible. If that's the case, it could indicate that we need to think about diversity differently. But I'm uncomfortable with a side effect that some of these policies could have - subtly pressuring women to focus on motherhood. The solution is complicated though if the mere existence of a good maternity leave policy encourages sexism. Hopefully general parental leave can help address this.

Baeocystin 9y ago
As far as I know, all developed countries have birthrates that are below replacement values. Is it really so bad to think that motherhood is something that should be focused on? Of my family/friends that are women with children, every single one of them wants more flexibility with their work, because they want more time to spend with the children. Children certainly benefit from parental attention. Yet many workplace policies regarding childcare are downright draconian. Perhaps we should accept that prioritizing parenting is a good thing, and try and make it so that people can both work and have the support they need to help with their familial obligations.
mrchicity 9y ago
Possibly has to do with wealth? When you have little, you have to prioritize finding a job that pays as much as you can possibly make. STEM jobs top that list easily. If you have a lot, pursuing a more leisurely or personally rewarding job is possible. My family came to the US as fairly poor immigrants from Portugal. My mother worked at the time, went to college at night to earn more, which was unusual then. She didn't this out of some sense of pride or feminism, but because she simply had to. The area where I lived had other poor immigrants from Romania, Armenia, Soviet Union, etc. and many of the mothers worked very hard outside the home as well.
steve_musk 9y ago
Where are you coming up with these claims? First of all, the article is talking about gender equality and not social safety nets (although the two may be correlated). But more importantly, the countries with more gender equality tend to also have more equal paternity/maternity leave. Look up Norway and Sweden policies, for example.

Baeocystin 9y ago

As far as I know, all developed countries have birthrates that are below replacement values. Is it really so bad to think that motherhood is something that should be focused on? Of my family/friends that are women with children, every single one of them wants more flexibility with their work, because they want more time to spend with the children. Children certainly benefit from parental attention. Yet many workplace policies regarding childcare are downright draconian. Perhaps we should accept that prioritizing parenting is a good thing, and try and make it so that people can both work and have the support they need to help with their familial obligations.

mrchicity 9y ago

Possibly has to do with wealth? When you have little, you have to prioritize finding a job that pays as much as you can possibly make. STEM jobs top that list easily. If you have a lot, pursuing a more leisurely or personally rewarding job is possible. My family came to the US as fairly poor immigrants from Portugal. My mother worked at the time, went to college at night to earn more, which was unusual then. She didn't this out of some sense of pride or feminism, but because she simply had to. The area where I lived had other poor immigrants from Romania, Armenia, Soviet Union, etc. and many of the mothers worked very hard outside the home as well.

steve_musk 9y ago

Where are you coming up with these claims? First of all, the article is talking about gender equality and not social safety nets (although the two may be correlated). But more importantly, the countries with more gender equality tend to also have more equal paternity/maternity leave. Look up Norway and Sweden policies, for example.