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Book part
Publication date: 5 February 2024

Sajia Ferdous

This chapter discusses work-life interface (WLI) issues for migrant-citizen older British women of South Asian heritage living in the UK. It shows how WLI issues are inevitably…

Abstract

This chapter discusses work-life interface (WLI) issues for migrant-citizen older British women of South Asian heritage living in the UK. It shows how WLI issues are inevitably entangled with the active ageing agenda for the older workforce and that we need further attention from scholars exploring these issues across life courses to appreciate and understand how ageing across locations, times and contexts unveils unique aspects of WLI. The chapter discussion rethinks some of the existing constructs of WLI and introduces new ones to its periphery, including people’s social identities and the spatio-temporal nature of those identities. Such a rethinking process is supported by critical empirical evidence on the lived experiences of a group of older ethnic minority British women living in Greater Manchester, UK, who juggled between work and caring throughout their lives, and abruptly quit paid work due to unmanageable overlapping demands. The evidence indicates how migrant women from the global south struggle to navigate UK WLI norms/culture and their meanings, especially when irreconcilable differences exist between the community/family norms and the social norms in the host country. The chapter findings have implications for the future of an inclusive labor market as it recommends early planning, provisioning and addressing ageing migrants’ WLI issues to draw sustainable/inclusive future labor market policies.

Details

Work-Life Inclusion: Broadening Perspectives Across the Life-Course
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-219-8

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Abstract

Details

Work-Life Inclusion: Broadening Perspectives Across the Life-Course
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-219-8

Article
Publication date: 9 January 2024

Sweta Sinha and Koustab Ghosh

This paper aims to explore the evolving needs of Indian men and their aspirations regarding work–life balance practices. The ultimate aim is to assess whether the available…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the evolving needs of Indian men and their aspirations regarding work–life balance practices. The ultimate aim is to assess whether the available policies are helpful and to explore the various roadblocks in their implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

This study takes a qualitative approach and draws on the semi-structured interviews of Indian men (N = 19).

Findings

The analysis revealed an asymmetrical approach of organizations toward implementing employee benefit policies. The organizations remain plagued by the notion that “benefits policies” are needed only by women to carry out additional family responsibilities, whereas men remain aloof from such responsibilities, which takes its strength from the patriarchal roots of Indian society. This study reveals two major themes: lack of appreciation for gender egalitarianism arising among men at the work–family interface’ and the coping practices by men to address their ‘role strain arising due to work–family conflict. It is noted that there is a need to formulate policies and practices to cater to men’s evolving aspirations toward the family–work interface.

Originality/value

This study furthers the debate on inclusive policies for employees and examines the subsection of men for their evolving needs and aspirations. Although organizations live in the glory of having employee-friendly policies, they offer little help in advancing gender neutrality in the workplace. The inclusive policies shall also be helpful for females because it would increase the availability of their partners/spouses to share the family responsibilities.

Details

Gender in Management: An International Journal , vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2413

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Article
Publication date: 22 June 2023

Godfred Matthew Yaw Owusu, Regina Mensah Onumah and Amanda Efua Essel-Donkor

This study aims to present a bibliometric analysis of research on pensions and retirement systems over the past 100 years. The study examines the intellectual structure and…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to present a bibliometric analysis of research on pensions and retirement systems over the past 100 years. The study examines the intellectual structure and mapping in the field of pension and retirement; uncovers growth and publication patterns; identifies thematic areas in the pension domain; provides analysis of gaps; and recommends direction for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

The study sourced data from the Scopus database between 1910 and 2022 covering a 112-year period. Employing bibliometric techniques, a total of 6,661 papers were selected and analyzed using SPSS and VOSviewer software.

Findings

Results from the cluster analysis suggest research in this domain has focused on five thematic areas namely pension plans, retirement systems, pension schemes, demographic, and socio-economic determinants of pension and retirement decisions. The authors show from the overlay visualization output how these themes have evolved within the period under review. The study further presents major developments, conclusions and suggestions for future research directions based on insights obtained from the research themes to enrich the field of pension and retirement planning.

Research limitations/implications

The study is useful for informing researchers and practitioners on the state of the pension domain, and findings are useful avenues in developing the research field.

Originality/value

The study adds to existing literature on pension and retirement by offering an analysis of the state of pension research over a century and highlighting areas for future research.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 51 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

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Article
Publication date: 22 August 2023

Maria Farrugia, Anna Borg and Anne Marie Thake

Although women have advanced in the economic sphere, the gender pay gap (GPG) remains a persisting problem for gender equality. Using Acker's theory of gendered organisations…

Abstract

Purpose

Although women have advanced in the economic sphere, the gender pay gap (GPG) remains a persisting problem for gender equality. Using Acker's theory of gendered organisations, this study strives to gain a better understanding from a macro and micro approach, how family and work-related policies, especially family-friendly measures (FFMs), and their uptake, contribute and maintain the GPG in Malta and specifically within the Financial and Insurance sector.

Design/methodology/approach

Two research instruments were used. National policy documents were analysed through the gender lens, followed by structured interviews with HR managerial participants within this sector.

Findings

Findings suggest that at a macro level, family and work-related policies could be divided into two broad categories: A set of family-friendly policies that contribute to the GPG because of their gendered nature, or because the uptake is mostly taken by women. These include make-work pay policies, which initially appear to be gender neutral, but which attracted lower educated inactive women to the Maltese labour market at low pay, contributing to an increase in the GPG. Second, a set of policies that take on a gender-neutral approach and help reduce the GPG. These include policies like the free childcare and after school care scheme that allow mothers to have a better adherence to the labour market. At the micro level within organisations, pay discrepancies between women and men were largely negated and awareness about the issue was low. Here, “ideal worker” values based on masculine norms seemed to lead to covert biases towards mothers who shoulder heavier care responsibilities in the families and make a bigger use of FFMs. Because men are better able to conform to these gendered values and norms, the GPG persists through vertical segregation and glass ceilings, among others.

Research limitations/implications

Since not all the companies in the Eurostat NACE code list participated in this research, results could not be generalised but were indicative to future large-scale studies..

Practical implications

At the macro and policy level, some FFMs take on a clear gendered approach. For example, the disparity in length between maternity (18 weeks) and paternity leave (1 day) reinforces gender roles and stereotypes, which contribute to the GPG in the long run. While some FFMs like parental leave, career breaks, urgent family leave, telework, flexible and reduced hours seem to take on a more gender-neutral approach, the uptake of FFMs (except childcare) seems to generate discriminatory behaviour that may affect the GPG. When considering the make-work pay policies such as the “in-work benefit” and the “tapering of benefits”, this study showed that these policies attracted lower educated and low-skilled women into the labour market, which in turn may have further contributed to the increasing GPGs. On the other hand, the childcare and after school policies relieve working mothers from caregiving duties, minimising career interruptions, discriminatory behaviour and overall GPGs.

Social implications

This study confirmed that organisations within the Financial and Insurance sector are gendered and give value to full-time commitment and long working hours, especially in managerial roles. Managerial positions remain associated with men because mothers tend to make more use of FFMs such as parental leave, reduced, flexible hours and teleworking. Mothers are indirectly penalised for doing so, because in gendered organisations, the uptake of FFMs conflict with the demands of work and ideal worker values (Acker, 1990). This maintains the vertical segregation and widens the GPG within the Financial and Insurance sector.

Originality/value

By using the gender lens and taking a wider and more holistic approach from the macro and micro level, this study highlights how interlinking factors lead to and sustain the GPG in the Financial and Insurance sector in Malta.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 43 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

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Article
Publication date: 10 May 2023

Dalina Amonhaemanon

“Poor, Stressed, Drink (alcohol), and Gambling” is one of the campaigns for poverty eradication in Thailand. This study focuses on informal workers—gamblers—who belong to…

Abstract

Purpose

“Poor, Stressed, Drink (alcohol), and Gambling” is one of the campaigns for poverty eradication in Thailand. This study focuses on informal workers—gamblers—who belong to low-income groups and are not covered by the law as an employer. The main objective was to investigate the factors affecting financial stress among informal laborers and determine the factors that drive informal workers to buy lottery tickets (classified by economic, psychological and social motives).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors applied binary logistic regression to determine what factors affected financial stress and multinomial logistic regression was applied to examine the factors affecting the motives for buying the lottery.

Findings

According to the study's results, factors including education, income, gambling intensity, level of financial literacy, saving and knowledge about finance in general influenced both economic and psychological motives negatively. However, gender, status, age, level of risk tolerance, self-evaluated level of acceptable risk and knowledge about compound interest influenced both economic motives and psychological motives positively. It is worth noting that both the self-evaluation of their level of financial literacy and knowledge about inflation resulted in effects moving in different directions, with self-evaluation of their level of financial literacy and knowledge about inflation negatively affecting economic motives, but positively affecting psychological motives.

Practical implications

The results of this study are expected to help policymakers understand more about this issue since it will illustrate the relationships between financial stress and financial literacy, financial behaviors, financial attitudes and risk tolerance and gambling behaviors. After all, financial stress is a significant problem affecting individuals, their families and the community, and it stems from various complex factors. Therefore, the government and counseling agencies should apply active strategies to mitigate these issues and lessen the resulting financial stress by providing financial literacy projects, as well as financial counseling.

Social implications

Low financial literacy, especially being inefficient at managing one's finances, unusually comes with unhealthy financial thought patterns, as well as a lack of systematic financial management. Furthermore, the lack of financial literacy can potentially lead to unfavorable circumstances. When one falls into uncontrollable situations, including divorce, becoming unemployed, having health problems, being in toxic relationships, loss of a breadwinner, an unexpected pregnancy, etcetera, they could easily find themselves failing to properly cope with these problems and become stressed. Finally, they are also more at risk to take illicit drugs or begin gambling more frequently.

Originality/value

One of the key elements that reduces financial stress is a person's finances, which is thought to have a significant role in reducing their betting behaviors. The findings of this study can be used to guide policy making intended to deter those who have never gambled from starting. Gambling is considered a risk-taking activity with a higher value reward in return. Money, enjoyment, socialization and excitement were all popular motives for gambling. These findings were consistent with what has been observed in Thai society related to the factors influencing individual to gamble, in other words, economic, psychological and social motives. The study focused on gamblers who were informal laborers. They are laborers without an employer according to the Thai labor law, do not have any social security from the government and, usually, have low incomes.

Details

Review of Behavioral Finance, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1940-5979

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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 January 2024

Roosa Amanda Lambin and Milla Nyyssölä

Mainland Tanzania has seen two decades of significant social policy reforms and transformations in its social and economic structures, whilst the country continues to grapple with…

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Abstract

Purpose

Mainland Tanzania has seen two decades of significant social policy reforms and transformations in its social and economic structures, whilst the country continues to grapple with persisting gender inequalities. This article examines Tanzania's social policy developments from a gender perspective. The authors analyse the level, reach and quality of social policy delivery to working-age women across the areas of health policy, social protection and employment policy during 2000–2021.

Design/methodology/approach

The article draws on qualitative research deploying the scoping review method. The data consist of diverse secondary materials, including academic publications, government policy documents, relevant statistics and other types of “grey” literature.

Findings

Tanzania has made significant advancements in the legal frameworks around welfare provision and has instituted increasingly gender-responsive government policy plans. The health and social protection sectors, in particular, have witnessed the introduction of large-scale measures expanding social policy implementation. However, social policy delivery remains two-tiered, with differences in provisions for women in the formal and informal sectors.

Originality/value

Social policy delivery and implementation have increased and diversified in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) during the new millennium, with a growing integration of gender-specific policy objectives. However, limited social policy scholarship has focused on the gendered effects of broader social policy models in SSA. The article remedies the concomitant knowledge gaps by examining various social policies and their impacts on working-age women in Mainland Tanzania. The authors also engage with the theoretical welfare regime literature and present an analytical framework for gender-sensitive assessment of emerging social policy models in the Global South.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 44 no. 13/14
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

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Abstract

Details

A New Left Economics: An Economy with a Social Conscience
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-402-9

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 15 February 2024

Davi Bhering

Brazil’s regional inequality is an important topic due to the large and persistent differences in development between states and the high levels of inequality in the country…

Abstract

Purpose

Brazil’s regional inequality is an important topic due to the large and persistent differences in development between states and the high levels of inequality in the country. These variations in development can potentially render survey data inaccurate since the significance of capital income varies across the states. Besides, previous studies incorporating tax and national accounts data globally have mainly focused on measuring the income distribution at the country-level. This approach can limit the understanding of inequality, especially when considering large countries such as Brazil.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology used to construct these estimates follows the guidelines of the Distributional National Accounts, whose core goal is to provide income distribution measures consistent with macroeconomic aggregates and harmonized across countries and time. The procedure has three main steps: first, it corrects the survey’s underrepresentation of top incomes using tax data. Then, it accounts for national income items not included in the survey or tax data, such as imputed rents and undistributed profits. Finally, it ensures that all components match the national income.

Findings

Compared to survey-based estimations, the results reveal a new angle on the state-level inequality. This study indicates that Amazonas, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo have a more concentrated income distribution. The top 1\% of earners in these states receives around 28\% of total pre-tax income, while the top 10\% receive nearly 60\%. On the other end, Amapá (AP), Acre (AC), Rondônia (RO) and Santa Catarina (SC) are the states where the income distribution is less concentrated. There were no significant changes in the income distribution across the states during the period analyzed.

Originality/value

This study combines survey, tax and national accounts data to construct new estimates of Brazil’s state-level income distribution from 2006 to 2019. Previous results only considered income captured in surveys, which usually misses a significant part of capital incomes. This limitation may bias comparisons as capital income has different importance across the states. The new estimates represent the income of top groups more accurately, account for the entire national income and enable to compare regional inequality levels consistently with other countries.

Details

EconomiA, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1517-7580

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Abstract

Details

A Neoliberal Framework for Urban Housing Development in the Global South
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83797-034-6

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