Publication: Desarrollo y crisis de las políticas de conciliación de la vida laboral y familiar en España (1997-2014). Un marco explicativo
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2014
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Instituto de Investigaciones Feministas UCM
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Abstract
En los últimos años, el análisis de los factores que están en la base del devenir de los Estados del Bienestar postindustriales se ha convertido en una agenda de investigación central en la literatura del bienestar. Los diversos análisis han subrayado el poder explicativo de una o varias de las siguientes hipótesis: la presión de la globalización, el impacto de la Unión Europea, la aparición de “nuevos riesgos sociales” asociados a las transformaciones demográficas y socioeconómicas de las últimas décadas, la movilización de recursos de poder de las izquierdas, y la influencia del diseño políticoinstitucional. Estas hipótesis se han puesto a prueba en los sectores de política social considerados centrales, como las pensiones o la sanidad, pero rara vez han sido examinadas para el caso de las políticas familiares, que paradójicamente constituyen el sector de política social que mayores transformaciones ha experimentado en los últimos años. El presente artículo aborda este vacío analizando las causas que empujaron el avance de un sector de políticas de conciliación de la vida laboral y familiar en España entre 1997 y 2010 y su posterior declive en los últimos años. Para ello, presenta un modelo “pluralista” de análisis de las transformaciones en las políticas sociales y, en concreto, en la política de conciliación. Frente a la centralidad de las explicaciones institucionalistas en este campo, se recupera la teoría de los recursos de poder y se propone una reformulación en clave feminista. Así, se sostiene que la clave para entender el avance –y posterior declive– de las políticas de conciliación en España es la interacción entre la coyuntura económica y los recursos de poder de las mujeres, sin negar la importancia de otras variables como los nuevos riesgos sociales, la influencia europea y el legado institucional.
In recent years, the analysis of the factors that have pushed the transformation of post-industrial welfare states has become a central research agenda for welfare state scholars. Different analysis of social policies' changes have underlined the explanatory power of one or some of the following factors: the pressure of globalization, the impact of the European Union, the appearance of “new social risks” associated to the socioeconomic and demographic transformations of the last decades, the power resources of leftist organizations, and the influence of the political and institutional arrangements and legacies. Mainstream researchers have usually tested their hypotheses in the sectors of social policy that are considered central, such as pensions or health services. However, these hypotheses have been rarely examined in the case of family policies, which paradoxically constitute the sector of social policy that has suffered the greatest changes in recent years. The present paper tackles this lacuna through an analysis of the causes that pushed the development – and subsequent decline- of reconciliation policies in Spain from 1997 to 2014. To that aim, I present a “pluralist” framework for the study of social policy transformations and, in particular, for the study of reconciliation policy transformations. Against the predominance of institutionalist explanations in this field, I recover the power resources theory and propose a feminist reformulation. Thus, I contend that the key to understanding the development –and subsequent decline– or reconciliation of work and family life policies in Spain is the interaction between the economic situation and women’s power resources, factors that in turn interact with other variables such as the new social risks, the influence of the European Union and the institutional legacy.
In recent years, the analysis of the factors that have pushed the transformation of post-industrial welfare states has become a central research agenda for welfare state scholars. Different analysis of social policies' changes have underlined the explanatory power of one or some of the following factors: the pressure of globalization, the impact of the European Union, the appearance of “new social risks” associated to the socioeconomic and demographic transformations of the last decades, the power resources of leftist organizations, and the influence of the political and institutional arrangements and legacies. Mainstream researchers have usually tested their hypotheses in the sectors of social policy that are considered central, such as pensions or health services. However, these hypotheses have been rarely examined in the case of family policies, which paradoxically constitute the sector of social policy that has suffered the greatest changes in recent years. The present paper tackles this lacuna through an analysis of the causes that pushed the development – and subsequent decline- of reconciliation policies in Spain from 1997 to 2014. To that aim, I present a “pluralist” framework for the study of social policy transformations and, in particular, for the study of reconciliation policy transformations. Against the predominance of institutionalist explanations in this field, I recover the power resources theory and propose a feminist reformulation. Thus, I contend that the key to understanding the development –and subsequent decline– or reconciliation of work and family life policies in Spain is the interaction between the economic situation and women’s power resources, factors that in turn interact with other variables such as the new social risks, the influence of the European Union and the institutional legacy.