INVESTIGADORES
JELIN elizabeth
capítulos de libros
Título:
Gender and the family in public policy: a comparative view of Argentina and Sweden.
Autor/es:
JELIN, ELIZABETH
Libro:
Global perspectives on gender equality. Reversing the gaze
Editorial:
Routledge
Referencias:
Lugar: Londres; Año: 2008; p. 40 - 63
Resumen:
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This chapter looks at the history of the
family and family policy in Sweden,
trying to understand how models of the family evolved over time, and the impact
of family policy in shaping options and alternatives for men and women. The
questions asked about Sweden
are presented in an implicit dialogue with the experience of South
America, especially of Argentina. It is, in a sense, a
selective comparative history, presenting first some of the main features of
the history of family policy in Argentina,
to then look at Sweden.
The comparative framework implicit in the chapter reveals the contrast between
the Swedish situation, where the political will of certain social actors
(mostly women) to foster gender equality has led to legal changes that then
influenced social practices, and the South American one, where the strength of
political actors with conservative and patriarchal views (including foremost
but not solely the Catholic Church) deters change. As a consequence, legal and
policy interventions tend to mold social practice in Sweden, while changes in social
practices more often precede and clash with legal provisions and public
policies in South America. The chapter unveils
the different approaches and understandings of ?gender equality? in the two
contrasting cases. The contrast is between policies that are based on ?gender
neutrality? and those based on recognizing (and reinforcing) gender differences
(based on a gender hierarchy or even on a view of ?equal but different?). In
fact, in Argentina
and other South American countries, the efforts of women are still to
?de-naturalize? the patriarchal family and to gain recognition of women?s basic
civil rights. After legalization of divorce and shared patria potestad have been secured in law, pending issues relate to
reproductive rights, the depenalization of abortion, and the recognition of
homosexual relationships. Furthermore, at a time when the political agenda
calls for the dismantling of the welfare state and the rise of neoliberal
policies, there is little political room to ask for State provision of
childcare facilities, maternal and paternal leaves, and the like ?rights that
were conquered in Sweden much earlier, under the aegis of a specific view of
the welfare state.
