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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Wearing out the work ethic
— population ageing, fertility and work-life balance | | Author(s) | Ian Dey |
| Journal title | Journal of Social Policy, vol 35, part 4, October 2006 |
| Pages | pp 671-688 |
| Source | http://www.journals.cambridge.org |
| Keywords | Employment ; Employment of older people ; Family care ; Demography ; Social policy. |
| Annotation | In response to population ageing, the UK intends to increase female labour supply. To this end, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced a ten-year strategy designed to allow parents to combine work with family responsibilities more easily. The policies proposed centre on extending parental leave and childcare provision, while promoting greater flexibility in employment. While these policies may improve labour supply in the short term, this article looks at their implications for fertility, which, if negative, may reduce the labour supply in the longer term. Recent demographic studies suggest that measures which allow women more readily to combine childbearing with paid employment may also stabilise or improve fertility rates, so mitigating the trend to population ageing. However, the evidence is not conclusive, for relationships between female employment and fertility are complex and context dependent. The article suggests several factors that might merit further consideration. These include gender inequities in the domestic division of labour, long working hours, and a re-evaluation of unpaid work in the home. Enthusiasm for the work ethic may have to be balanced by a more explicit acknowledgement of a care ethic. (KJ/RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-061114211 A |
| Classmark | WJ: GC: P6:SJ: S8: TM2 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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