International work-family policies: what do they mean for Australia?
Jennifer Baxter, Jennifer Renda and Matthew Gray
Australian Institute of Family Studies
Contact Email: matthew.gray
aifs.gov.au
It is now generally accepted that governments have an important role to play in assisting families to successfully manage their work and caring responsibilities. Supporting those with caring responsibilities is important from a public policy perspective for a number of reasons including; the potential negative impact on individual and family wellbeing that may occur when the demands of work and family are in conflict and the desire to improve gender equity and increase workforce productivity. This paper begins by providing a review of work–family policies that governments across industrialised countries have adopted and highlights the diversity in the range of policies and approaches taken. Then, in order to examine some of the policies and approaches adopted in other countries in an Australian context, the ABS 2007 Survey of Employment Arrangements and Superannuation is used to examine how employed men and women in Australia differ in their use of family-friendly working arrangements that are supported or legislated by governments in other countries and how this use varies according to the nature of caring responsibilities. The unmet demand for particular working arrangements is also discussed.
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