A3 Vertaisarvioitu kirjan tai muun kokoomateoksen osa
Gender, family policies and the gendered impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland
Tekijät: Mesiäislehto, Merita; Salin, Milla; Hakovirta, Mia
Toimittaja: Sung, Sirin
Kustantaja: Edward Elgar Publishing
Julkaisuvuosi: 2025
Kokoomateoksen nimi: Gender, Family and Policy: International Perspectives
Tietokannassa oleva lehden nimi: Gender, Family and Policy: International Perspectives
Sarjan nimi: New Horizons in Social Policy series
Aloitussivu: 60
Lopetussivu: 76
ISBN: 978-1-80220-554-1
eISBN: 978-1-80220-555-8
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802205558.00011
Verkko-osoite: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802205558.00011
Tiivistelmä
As a Nordic country, Finland is often seen as one of the forerunners of gender equality and has long been acknowledged for the family-friendly welfare state that has also fostered a high degree of defamilization. The COVID-19 pandemic posed a new challenge to the Finnish welfare state and its functioning as it had a significant impact on employment, earnings and the division of care responsibilities among families. This chapter discusses the gender and family policies in Finland and the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on gender equality and wellbeing of families. We analyze (1) how well gender and family policies meet their goals in supporting different types of families in society, (2) the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on gender equality and families in Finland in terms of employment and income and reconciliation of paid work and childcare, and (3) the role of policies in supporting families during the crisis. Our results show that like other countries, in Finland the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis disproportionately hit women who largely worked in service jobs affected by the crisis. Women also mostly shouldered the responsibility of the increased care burden during the first months of the pandemic. Nevertheless, our findings indicate that most of the negative gendered effects in Finland were temporary.
As a Nordic country, Finland is often seen as one of the forerunners of gender equality and has long been acknowledged for the family-friendly welfare state that has also fostered a high degree of defamilization. The COVID-19 pandemic posed a new challenge to the Finnish welfare state and its functioning as it had a significant impact on employment, earnings and the division of care responsibilities among families. This chapter discusses the gender and family policies in Finland and the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on gender equality and wellbeing of families. We analyze (1) how well gender and family policies meet their goals in supporting different types of families in society, (2) the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on gender equality and families in Finland in terms of employment and income and reconciliation of paid work and childcare, and (3) the role of policies in supporting families during the crisis. Our results show that like other countries, in Finland the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis disproportionately hit women who largely worked in service jobs affected by the crisis. Women also mostly shouldered the responsibility of the increased care burden during the first months of the pandemic. Nevertheless, our findings indicate that most of the negative gendered effects in Finland were temporary.
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