The Impact of Taking Parental Leave on Fathers’ Participation In Childcare And Relationships With Children: Lessons from Sweden

In Sweden, government-mandated paid parental leave has been available to both mothers and fathers since 1974. By 2006, each parent had two non-transferable leave months and nine additional months to share. From the beginning, parental leave was presented as a policy designed to promote gender equality, with women and men having equal opportunities and responsibilities to contribute economically to the family and care for children. Sweden thus provides a unique setting to explore whether social policy can be an important instrument for changing the gender contract. Analysing survey data from 356 fathers working in large private companies, we found that the amount of parental leave days taken had positive effects on several aspects of fathers’ participation in childcare and on their satisfaction with contact with children, controlling for other factors contributing to fathers’ participation in childcare. Our findings suggest that the full potential of Sweden's parental leave policy for degendering the division of labour for childcare will not likely be met until fathers are strongly encouraged by social policy to take a more equal portion of parental leave.     

Coexisting disadvantages across the adult age span: A comparison of older and younger age groups in the Swedish welfare state

Heap J, Lennartsson C, Thorslund M. Coexisting disadvantages across the adult age span: a comparison of older and younger age groups in the Swedish welfare state To experience coexisting disadvantages – the simultaneous lack of several different welfare resources – implies a hampered ability to manage one's living conditions. Here, we study coexisting disadvantages in the oldest population compared with younger age groups in Sweden, by drawing on two linked, nationally representative surveys (n = 5,392). The measurement of coexisting disadvantages included physical health, psychological health, frequency of social contact, cash margin and political resources. The highest odds of coexisting disadvantages were found after age 75 – age groups that are frequently excluded from studies of coexisting disadvantages. This pattern persisted when controlling for socio‐demographic and socio‐economic characteristics. The age pattern was partly driven by the high prevalence of physical health problems in the older population. However, even when excluding physical health problems, the odds of coexisting disadvantages were highest among people older than 85 – the fastest‐growing segment of the population in many Western countries.     

EXPECTATIONS RELATING TO CHILDCARE AMONG FRENCH AND SWEDISH FAMILIES

This paper investigates how policy and values interrelate concerning expectations of childcare based on 80 interviews with 40 families with young children from France and Sweden, respectively. Upbringing, learning and socialization are important expectations among French parents. The results presented here are in line with educational goals that may have been influenced by policy. The findings suggest that France may, in terms of expectations on childcare, still belong to the conservative cluster as categorized by Esping-Andersen (1990 Esping-Andersen, G. 1990. The three worlds of welfare capitalism, Cambridge: Polity Press.  [Google Scholar]), although family policy may differ from that of, for example, Germany and Italy in the same cluster. Swedish parents stress the importance of the individual child as well as pedagogy, thus, indicating compatibility between a parental wish for the individual development of the child and an emphasis on collective care in Swedish family policy.     

H-Day 1967 – An alternative perspective on “propaganda” in the historiography of public relation

This article presents an alternative perspective regarding the concept of “propaganda” in the historiography of public relations. Recent scholars of public relations have rightly criticized early attempts to write the field’s history as a linear progression, from propaganda to excellence. At the same time, however, the same recent scholars have come to accept a linear conceptual change, and that “propaganda” became an impossible term in liberal democratic countries in the 1960s. By using the empirical case of the massive communication efforts initiated by the Swedish Commission on Right-Hand Traffic, which was assigned to implement right-hand traffic in 1967, this article shows that the concept of “propaganda” both occurred frequently and was used in a neutral sense. To deepen the understanding of this alternative perspective, the article both presents how the historical actors conceptualized their work, and describes how the communication work of the Commission was performed.     

Multiculturalism and welfare state integration: Swedish model path dependency

The present article offers an account of Swedish integration policies in the post-war period. The theoretical purpose is to assess Christian Joppke’s hypothesis that recent trends of integration policy convergence have rendered the national model approach analytically useless. The analysis shows that Sweden deviates, in some important respects, from the European trend by not formulating demands that link integration achievements to immigrants’ access to fundamental rights. The conclusion is that the Swedish case does not support Joppke’s hypothesis, but rather indicates that path dependency of national models is a valid explanation to ongoing developments. It is argued that the Swedish exception should be understood as an expression of the persistent impact of a policy logic according to which integration requires that all citizens have equal and universal access to certain fundamental rights. The article builds on general comparisons with European policy developments and uses Denmark as a more specific reference point.     

Comparing the Experiences of Highly Skilled Labor Migrants in Sweden and Japan: Barriers and Doors to Long-term Settlement

As labor markets become increasingly global, competition among industrialized nations to attract highly skilled workers from abroad has intensified. Spurred by concerns over future economic needs caused by the demographic challenges of an aging population, both Japan and Sweden have joined this global competition. This article examines Japanese and Swedish immigration policies for highly skilled migrants and compares the highly skilled migrants’ experiences in the two countries through interviews with these migrants. Despite Japan and Sweden's completely different approaches to immigration itself, both countries’ policies, as well as the experiences of the skilled migrants, are strikingly similar. Highly skilled migrants experience language barriers and prejudice in both countries, making it difficult to build social networks with natives. Career development seems to be perceived as a common problem, although less so in Sweden, where labor markets are more flexible. Overall, these issues reduce both Japan's and Sweden's ability to retain skilled migrants. While they share similarities, Sweden's famed work–life balance and gender equality give it an edge in the competition for skilled migrants, which Japan does not share. This comparison identifies which social conditions facilitate or impede skilled migrant settlement.     

Ambivalent Spaces—The Emergence of a New Gay Male Norm Situated Between Notions of the Commercial and the Political in the Swedish Gay Press, 1969–1986

Within sexual geographies, sexual struggles over urban public spaces are frequently explored. Less common is research on sexual struggles within sexually shared spaces and gay spaces. The aim of the article is to examine discursive struggles of meanings of gay male identity enacted in discussions of commodification/capitalism, disclosure, and space in Swedish gay press during 1969–1986. We trace the ambivalent feelings or the emergence of a new gay male norm situated between commercialism and non-commercialism within the Swedish gay press back to the 1970s. In the article we show how a monosexualization process was taking place in both the Swedish gay press as well as within sexual spaces. We explore rhetorical struggles between two competing discursive meanings of (ideal homonormative) male homosexuality, gay culture, and space: one wider (inclusive) and one narrower (exclusive).     

When the state takes over: civic integration programmes and the role of cities in immigrant integration

The idea that cities enjoy a certain degree of autonomy from the state when it comes to shaping immigrant integration policy has been repeatedly highlighted by research and promoted by good governance discourses. However, the emergence of state-led civic integration programmes (CIP) across Europe would seem to jar with this movement. This is the contradiction that this article explores. CIP mobilise significant resources and streamline immigrant integration through language courses, the provision of information about the host society and vocational orientation. Drawing on policy documents and interviews with local policy-makers on the CIP in the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden, this article demonstrates how they reduce the role cities have in immigrant integration; and how they transform integration policies—to varying degrees—from being developed in relationship to locally emerging needs to being charged with state sovereignty. These findings challenge the idea that there is an increasingly local approach to integration. They also raise concerns about the ambitions of CIP. Although presented as a means to make integration policies more efficient, their focus on control and coercion may in fact jeopardise their capacity to respond to concrete integration needs.     

Parental age and offspring mortality: Negative effects of reproductive ageing may be counterbalanced by secular increases in longevity

As parental ages at birth continue to rise, concerns about the effects of fertility postponement on offspring are increasing. Due to reproductive ageing, advanced parental ages have been associated with negative health outcomes for offspring, including decreased longevity. The literature, however, has neglected to examine the potential benefits of being born at a later date. Secular declines in mortality mean that later birth cohorts are living longer. We analyse mortality over ages 30–74 among 1.9 million Swedish men and women born 1938–60, and use a sibling comparison design that accounts for all time-invariant factors shared by the siblings. When incorporating cohort improvements in mortality, we find that those born to older mothers do not suffer any significant mortality disadvantage, and that those born to older fathers have lower mortality. These findings are likely to be explained by secular declines in mortality counterbalancing the negative effects of reproductive ageing.     

Ecosocial change and community resilience: The case of “Bönan” in glocal transition

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article was to identify and discuss ecosocial changes and community resilience mechanisms in a coastal fishing community of Sweden – Bönan. Data were collected through eight semi-structured interviews and field observations. An abductive thematic analysis was used to analyze data and background literature. The findings showed that Bönan has been exposed to a combination of ecosocial changes that have transformed the community, and therefore required community resilience interventions. This article concludes that social workers need to take an active part in ecosocial work for enhancing community resilience.