Research Proposal: Sexual Harassment, Power, and Vulnerability related to Trump

[NAME REDACTED] Prof. Landweber GSWS 402 – Senior Seminar Research Proposal February 25, 2013

Work-Life Balance amongst Women in Sweden and the United States: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

For my research project, I am looking to study how women in a welfare state that has

Socialist-Democratic political leanings, such as in Sweden, juggle both family and work

obligations versus how women in the capitalist United States juggle the same commitments. I am

interested in this question because I want to understand how politics can influence specific

policies regarding gender equality in terms of balancing career and private life. The intended

goal of my research is to assess US policies that affect women’s decisions regarding balancing a

career around a family and marriage in contrast to how Swedish policies affect these decisions. I

am looking to assess if US policies, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), formed

out of a capitalistic and individualistic mentality, are promoting a healthy work-life balance for

women in this country. Additionally, I am looking at Sweden’s model to asses if a more

Socialist-Democratic approach to policy making would benefit women in the US who are

juggling both work and a family.

Sweden has proven to be an example of what a true democracy looks like, as their

policies have been a model for many countries in the European Union. Through the utilization of

the OECD Better Life Index, Sweden is named as one of the “happiest countries”, with over 2/3

of the population reporting having more positive experiences than negative ones on a daily basis.

Additionally, Sweden has been regarded as a country that prides itself on gender equality and

certain policies that respect men and women on equal terms. Sweden’s progressive policies

regarding maternity leave and child-care have been known to take the burden of the family and

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home off of the woman so that it becomes an issue tackled equally by man and woman. It

appears that Sweden is “with the times”, configuring policies and plans to accommodate a time

in history in which dual-earning households are the norm.

On the contrary, the United States has appeared to defiantly resist any type of policy

reform that could be deemed “socialist” in nature. Regardless of the praise that Welfare states

receive for their progressive policies, the United States has refused to follow their lead, thus

creating policies and programs within the confines of a capitalist structure. Harping on the

importance of individualism and freedom, US policies such as FMLA, work to address the issue

of work-family balance but in actuality, do very little to get to the root of the problem. It can be

argued that although in 2013 women make up half of the labor force, there is still a distinction

between private and public spheres. In the US as well as in Sweden, there has been a dramatic

influx of women into the work-force, thus making dual-earning families a normal occurrence.

However, the United States has done very little in the way of passing legislation that supports

this new phenomenon. With more and more women being encouraged to receive a higher

education and to apply for high-paying and high-demand jobs, very little has been done to

restructure the commonly upheld belief that the home needs to be maintained by the woman. The

reluctance to change this idea of separate spheres creates a world in which women are expected

to fulfill two roles – roles in the public sphere as well as keeper of the home and tender of the

children. Child-care and house work which are traditionally viewed as “women’s jobs” are

highly undervalued and underpaid. If policy reflects the culture of the time, it can be said that the

issue of balancing work with private life is highly disrespected in the US. However, if enough

American women are dissatisfied with US family-work policies such as FMLA, is that enough to

encourage policy reform? If so, can Sweden be a model for which we shape our policies?

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A significant amount of research has been done on the issue of work-life balance both in

the United States and in Sweden. Tunberger and Sigle-Rushton have conducted research on three

Swedish policies that were implemented in 2008 under a more right-leaning governmental

coalition (Tunberger & Sigle-Rushton, 2011). The goal of their research is to assess if the new

policies have a negative effect on class and gender relations, considering the older and more-

egalitarian Socialist-Democratic ways of policy making. This is an interesting piece to use

because it takes a look at the differences in politics in Sweden (Socialist-Democratic party vs.

more conservative right-wing party). Similarly, Berggren takes a look at the infamous FMLA

that was implemented in 1993, claiming that it reinforces the age-old idea of separate spheres

(Berggren, 2008). Both of these articles provide important insight by looking critically into the

family-work policies of both Sweden and the United States. Further, I have gathered some data

from both the United States government and the Swedish government on work-life policies and

the intended consequences of them. Studying the language, as well as the focus of these

materials is specifically important for my research.

The work that I am planning to do is sociological by nature, assessing policy as well as

the political climate of the said countries. I will be looking at policies that address child-care in

terms of its cost and availability, as well as family leave policies, including maternity and

paternity leaves allotted for working parents of children. I am interested in looking at legal

documents, as well, specifically focusing on the issues that many Americans have had with the

FMLA. If possible, I’d also like to take a look at American and Swedish magazines as well as

other cultural artifacts directed towards women, analyzing the language that is used when

discussing work and family. Many books and scholarly articles have been written on the issue of

separate spheres and the gendering of the work-life balance issue. I’d like to expand on these

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writings by looking at how the Swedish government and US government address gender and

class in these policies. I am interested in gathering information from any studies that have been

done on Swedish women to assess their attitudes and satisfaction with Swedish work-life

policies. Additionally, I am planning to conduct my own research on American women’s beliefs

about US family-leave policies and stances on child care. This ideally would enable American

mothers and women to decide for themselves if their government can do more for them to

promote a healthy work-life balance while ensuring gender equality.

I will be conducting my own research on women’s work-life balance in the United States

for my senior seminar in sociology this semester and hope to incorporate the data into my

research project for the women and gender studies seminar. To conduct my research on women’s

work-life balance in the US, I will be utilizing a quantitative approach, interviewing

approximately 15 women who have grown up in this country. I will be taking a voice recorder

with me to capture the entire interview while also taking notes about the discussion. I am looking

to focus on two specific age groups (roughly 17-32 and roughly 50-65), in order to better

understand how two different generations of women are juggling a career with a family or are

planning their lives around a possible career and family. I will be researching women who come

from a middle-class neighborhood and background. Specifically, I want to look at how my

research subjects were raised, what they learned about who tends the children/home and who

provides for the family, the pressures that they were exposed to regarding receiving an education,

how important it is/was for them to be economically independent, etc. I want to ask the younger

demographic if they are anticipating any problems in the future when it comes to balancing a

career with a family and how they plan to tackle those issues should they arrive. I also want to

ask the older demographic about their experiences having a career (or job) in addition to having a

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spouse or family (if applicable). How do these women view US policies such as FMLA? What

were/are their stressors? Do they feel responsible for taking care of the home as well as

providing an income? If they could change the current policies regarding child care and

maternal/paternal leave, what would they change? I believe that these two age groups are

interesting to study because they come from markedly different times. The older generation may

have more traditional views about public and private spheres, whereas the younger generation

may be more inclined to dismiss these dichotomies. But has the country changed all that much

when handling the issues of work and family life?

WORKS CITED Berggren, Heidi M (2008). “US family-leave policy: the legacy of ‘separate spheres’.”

International Journal of Social Welfare 17: 312-323.

Tunberger, P. and W. Sigle-Rushton (2011). "Continuity and change in Swedish family policy reforms." Journal of European Social Policy 21: 225-237.

Executive Office of the President, Council of Economic Advisors. (2010). Work-life balance and the economics of workplace flexibility. Washington, DC: The White House.

Sweden. Ministry of Education and Research. Democracy, Gender Equality, and Human Rights. N.p., 17 Jan. 2013.