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ARTICLES

‘It was just too hard to come back’: unintended policy impacts on work-family balance in the Australian and Canadian non-profit social services

Pages 233-248 | Received 18 Oct 2010, Accepted 08 Dec 2010, Published online: 20 May 2011
 

Abstract

Data from an international comparative study of changes in the Canadian and Australian non-profit social services sector (NPSS) suggest that conditions within specific sectors of the labour market, in this case the non-profit sector, and the distinctive contexts and ethos operating in these sectors influence the ways that women remain attached, reduce their hours or cut ties to the labour market in an effort to balance work-family dynamics. Drawing on qualitative interview data, this article explores the links between social and industrial relations policy and the strategies women employed in the NPSS to balance work-family demands. The article suggests that the existence or absence of social entitlements and support services may impact more than one generation of women, thus having unanticipated outcomes and shaping the way that multiple groups of women participate in the workforce and larger society or are positioned marginally within them. The article also contributes to debates on comparative welfare regimes and gender inequity in the lives of those working in and using the services of the non-profit sector; a sector that is increasingly viewed as an extension of the state and state policies and the larger welfare regime.

Les données d'une étude de recherche internationale et comparative des changements dans le secteur des service sociaux des organismes à buts non-lucratifs (SSOBN) du Canada et de l'Australie suggèrent que les conditions dans certains secteurs spécifiques du marché du travail, en ce cas le secteur des organismes à buts non-lucratifs, et les contextes distincts qui opèrent dans ces secteurs influencent les façons dont les femmes restent confinées en réduisant leurs heures de travail ou coupent leurs liens au marché du travail en s'efforçant d'équilibrer les liens de la conciliation travail-famille. Utilisant les données des entrevues qualitatives, cet article explore les liens entre les politiques de relations sociales et industrielles et les stratégies qu'utilisent les femmes dans le SSOBN pour équilibrer la conciliation travail-famille. L'article suggère que l'existence ou l'absence de droits sociaux et de services de support peuvent avoir un impact sur plus d'une génération de femmes, ayant ainsi des résultats imprévus en affectant la façon dont plusieurs groupes de femmes participent dans la population active rémunérée et dans la société dans son ensemble ou elles peuvent se retrouver en marge de celle-ci. L'article contribue aussi aux débats comparatifs des régimes d'assistance sociale et traite de l'iniquité entre les sexes de celles qui utilisent et qui travaillent dans les services du secteur à buts non-lucratifs; un secteur de plus en plus vu comme une extension de l'état et des politiques de l'état et des régimes d'assistance sociale dans leur ensemble.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the research participants for generously sharing their time and insights as well as to gratefully acknowledge funding from the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the research assistance of Dr Peter Robinson.

Notes

1. Though a slightly higher number of grandmothers are represented in this sample that likely reflects the self-selection and snowball recruitment techniques used in the study, the data signals a significant issue, well-documented in the literature (de Vaus et al., 2003) that merits further exploration. Recent data show Australian women over the age of 55 comprise 14.3% of the female labour force (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009b). All the Australian grandmothers in the sample (6 out of 31 participants or 19.4%) provided childcare to grandchildren whereas none of the Canadian sample mentioned this issue.

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