| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this report is to provide a comparative analysis of the extent to which 31 European states (the 28 Member States and the 3 EEA countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) have adopted measures which promote the reconciliation of working and private and family life. In contrast with the focus of recent reports of the European Network of Legal Experts in the Field of Gender Equality,1 the focus is on measures which go beyond those required by EU law. In particular, the report is concerned with flexible arrangements governing the time during which and the place in which work is undertaken, with flexibility in use of family-related leave, with carers’ leave and with measures permitting the sharing of parts of maternity leave between parents. The report does not address measures adopted by states to promote women’s re-entry into the labour market after periods of absence, as distinct from their return to full-time work after periods of part-time work related to domestic responsibilities or other reasons.
The EU has recognised the importance of reconciliation between work, private, and family life for some time.2 Important in their own right, measures promoting the reconciliation of these spheres of life are of fundamental significance to the practical realisation of gender equality: not only do they allow women, who disproportionately bear the responsibilities of caring for children and other dependents, to balance those responsibilities with paid labour, but they can also facilitate the transfer of some measure of caring responsibilities onto men, thus advancing gender equality at a more profound level. | en_US |
