Family policy transformation in Portugal

: assessing its relation to female labour market participation and gender equality

Abstract

Family policies play a crucial role in society as they influence several aspects of it, including social reproduction activities, women’s employment and gender equality. While there has been a notable shift in societal attitudes towards women's roles in both the workplace and the family, persistent gender inequalities highlight the need for additional or alternative transformations in family policies to achieve social justice for all women. The main purpose of this dissertation is to assess whether the policy transformations identified by Ferragina (2022) and its effects on female employment and gender equality have happened in the Portuguese case. To achieve this, Ferragina’s analysis was recreated and updated with the latest data available and other relevant information, namely about unpaid work, was also added to the analysis. This dissertation concludes that the major policy transformation identified by Ferragina (2022) have happened in the Portuguese case and, also, that the family policy transformations in Portugal seem to have contributed to an increase in female employment and also a reduction in the gaps between women and men, as Ferragina (2022) had established. Disparities, however, have not disappeared.

Date of Award	29 Jul 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Liliana Fernandes (Supervisor)