The gendered division of paid labour among families of children with disabilities

Having a child with a disability intensifies work–family conflict due to the additional caregiving demands. Research suggests that this conflict reinforces more traditional patterns of labour division in families of children with disabilities (FOCD), contributing to a well-documented ‘disability penalty’, where mothers’ relative contribution to paid labour is lower in FOCD than in other families. Yet, it remains unclear whether and how the disability penalty is shaped by family- and FOCD-specific policies. We shed light on this association by analysing data from the 2021 European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions from four European countries that differ in their family policies frameworks: Finland, the Netherlands, Spain, and Poland. Our findings suggest that the interplay of family policies and prevailing gender norms may shape the extent of the disability penalty, with cross-national variations in the differences between FOCD and non-FOCD in their gendered division of paid labour. A significant disability penalty is observed only in Poland, a country marked by minimal, means-tested support for FOCD alongside expectations of full-time employment for both parents. In contrast, in Finland, Spain, and the Netherlands, the disability penalty is either negligible or statistically nonsignificant. These results highlight the importance of a comparative perspective in understanding the disability penalty and the role of family policies in shaping labour market outcomes for FOCD. Findings offer valuable insights for policymakers addressing the challenges faced by FOCD across Europe

Association (psychology · Comparative case · Comparative method · Comparative research · Division of labour · European union · Inclusion (mineral · Perspective (graphical · Disability Education and Employment · Disability Rights and Representation · Family and Disability Support Research