The practical realization of the feminist welfare state
Equal sharing and gender equality in institutional interaction about parental leave in Sweden
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12259031 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Frida Höglund (0000-0003-4497-6614, Uppsala University, corresponding author), Marie Flinkfeldt (0000-0003-1751-1918, Uppsala University) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 309-327 |
| Publication date | 2023-12-21 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Feminism & Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0959-3535 • E-ISSN: 1461-7161 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/09593535231217135 |
| OpenAlex | W4390080540 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 35 |
Talk about gender equality in relation to parental leave is pervasive in Sweden. The state encourages families to share parental leave and has recurrently tasked the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (SSIA) to promote gender equality. As theories and applications of street-level bureaucracy have emphasized, how policy is practically realized in social interaction with clients is an important question, specifically whether gender equality discourse also permeates such encounters. We use conversation analysis to examine how equal sharing of parental leave is raised in interactions between parents and practitioners at the SSIA. The data consist of 300 telephone calls, 378 email exchanges, and 642 Facebook exchanges. Our analysis indicates that the talk of equal sharing is not as omnipresent as previous research might suggest. When parents orient to equal sharing, they tend to describe parental responsibilities, while practitioners connect equality to regulations that in themselves work to promote equal sharing. Equal sharing is also a resource for negotiating the citizen–state relationship, as parents complain about state interference while practitioners in response must balance provision of personalized support with the state imperative to promote sharing. The study highlights the complex work of practitioners in the “feminist welfare state” and sheds light on nuanced notions of equality promotion
Agency (philosophy · Bureaucracy · Conversation · Negotiation · Political science · Promotion (chess · Public relations · Social science · Sociology · State (computer science · Welfare state · Computer Science · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Law · Social Work Education and Practice · Work-Family Balance Challenges
Talk in Action
Turn organization
Glossary of transcript symbols with an introduction
Studies in ethnomethodology
Lectures on Conversation
The Best of Both Worlds? Fatherhood and Gender Equality in Swedish Paternity Leave Campaigns, 1976-2006
On Discourse and Dirty Nappies
Knowledge, morality and affiliation in social interaction
Talking policy into being—How street‐level bureaucrats and vulnerable unemployed talk about labor market participation
Microanalysis Of Online Data
Social Inclusion or Gender Equality? Political Discourses on Parental Leave in Finland and Sweden
Parental leave – and then what? A study of new parents’ negotiations about work, care and parental leave
Respecifying ‘worry’
Doing Feminist Conversation Analysis
Making equality relevant
Designedly intentional misgendering in social interaction
Student-Initiated Advice in Academic Supervision
Hypothetical Questions
The State as a Norm‐Builder? The Take‐up of Parental Leave in Norway and Sweden
How long is a parental leave and for whom? An analysis of methodological and policy dimensions of leave length and division in Sweden
Why do you ask
Social Equities and Inequities in Practice
Challenges in recognizing and facilitating disclosures of intimate partner violence in customer service calls about maintenance support
Grammar and Social Organization
Complaining in interaction
Clients' resistance to therapists' proposals
The termination of complaints in calls to an authority for student support
Transformative answers
How Long Should Parental Leave Be? Attitudes to Gender Equality, Family, and Work as Determinants of Women's and Men's Parental Leave in Sweden
Income Loss and Leave Taking
Fathers' Uptake of Parental Leave
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |