Benderly, Faculty Advisor, Jill

Campbell, \u2707, Sarah

Digital Commons @ Illinois Wesleyan University

Illinois Wesleyan UniversityDigital Commons @ IWUJohn Wesley Powell Student ResearchConference 2007, 18th Annual JWP ConferenceApr 14th, 9:00 AM - 10:00 AMWorking Motherhood: A Study on theRelationship Between the Policies SurroundingChildbirth, Women's Economic Security andGender EqualitySarah Campbell, '07Illinois Wesleyan UniversityJill Benderly, Faculty AdvisorIllinois Wesleyan UniversityFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/jwprcThis Event is brought to you for free and open access by The Ames Library, the Andrew W. Mellon Center for Curricular and FacultyDevelopment, the Office of the Provost and the Office of the President. It has been accepted for inclusion in Digital Commons @ IWU bythe faculty at Illinois Wesleyan University. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@iwu.edu.©Copyright is owned by the author of this document.Sarah Campbell, '07 and Jill Benderly, Faculty Advisor, "Working Motherhood: A Study on the Relationship Between thePolicies Surrounding Childbirth, Women's Economic Security and Gender Equality" (April 14, 2007). John Wesley PowellStudent Research Conference. Paper 8.http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/jwprc/2007/posters/8THE JOHN WESLEY POWELL S TUDENT RESEARCH CONFERENCE - APRIL 2007 Poster Presentation P I 7  WORKING MOTHERHOOD: A STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE POLICIES SURROUNDING CHILDBIRTH, WOMEN'S ECONOMIC SECURITY AND GENDER EQUALITY Sarah Campbell and Jill Benderly* International Studies and Political Science Departments, Illinois Wesleyan University School of International Training, Balkans Program This paper looks at the impact of patriarchal gender roles on various types of parental leaves and childcare, up to ages six, and on women' s  economic stability. It examines the impact of gender stereotypes, from historical, media, and social sources, on the gender division of work in the private sphere and how that contributes to which parent chooses to take the parental leave after childbirth. It acknowledges that the private sphere, domestic work and unpaid care work, is usually the responsibility of women; therefore the image of women and the salience of traditional stereotypes have a very important impact on the division of domestic tasks. It is specific to Croatia because of history, including war during the break-up of Yugoslavia and possible ascension into the European Union, and its history' s  impact on the development and entrenchment of traditional gender roles. The paper finds that for traditional gender roles to be pushed aside, men must be encouraged and allowed to participate in the domestic sphere, especially with childbirth, for paternity leaves to be used effectively. The public/private sphere balance for women should not be framed as an exclusive choice because it is not framed in this l ight for men - paternity and managerial positions do not involve a trade off. 

Working Motherhood: A Study on the Relationship Between the Policies Surrounding Childbirth, Women\u27s Economic Security and Gender Equality

http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2249&context=jwprc

Working Motherhood: A Study on the Relationship Between the Policies Surrounding Childbirth, Women\u27s Economic Security and Gender Equality

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