Abstract

We are pleased to announce a seminar exploring gender equality effects on family relationships, parental and child wellbeing. Changing gender relations have created considerable challenges for family relationships, especially after the transition to parenthood when the division of breadwinning and caring for the children require (re)negotiating. Have women’s and men’s ideals of work-family arrangements changed in theory only? Or have expectations actually changed, so that subjective wellbeing and relationship stability may in fact benefit from more gender equal relationships? How do different work and care arrangements impact on child wellbeing in the current context of limited availability of childcare and parental leave? Are there possibly trade-offs between gender equality and mothers’ and fathers’ wellbeing as a result of increased workload and stress? The seminar will present recent evidence on how couples’ earning arrangements and their division of housework and parenting are associated with relationship quality, parental and child wellbeing. It will present new studies based on large scale representative survey data as well as qualitative evidence in order to better understand the underlying family dynamics. Its scope is interdisciplinary covering psychological, sociological and social policy research. In the context of current economic pressures on families and re-emerging discussions about relationship policies and marriage incentives, the seminar aims to contribute to policy debates by examining the compatibility of policy goals of promoting child development, relationship stability, parental work-life balance and gender equality.