The Institutional Roots of Post-Communist Family Policy: Comparing the Czech and Slovak Republics

Abstract

This chapter takes a feminist institutionalist (FI) approach to understanding post-communist family policy. It argues that in order to look at family policies from a feminist perspective, it is necessary to investigate how institutional arrangements influence policies that in turn structure gender relations.¹ As many feminist scholars have noted, probably no other social or other governmental policies in democratic societies influence gender relations as much as family policies (Hernes 1987; Lewis 1993; Sainsbury 1994). Family policies influence gender relations in the public sphere by influencing the ability of women to have the time and energy to compete equally with men. Such policies as access to day care and type of parental leave can either make it easier or more difficult for mothers to balance work and family. Family policies influence gender relations in the private sphere, by either encouraging women to remain in their traditional role as the sole carers, or by encouraging men to share equally in caring tasks.