group 1 Pusch

Research proposal Research question: How does Lithuania and Austrian Family Policies effect on short time employment for women? Is family policy the only impact factor for the development of women part time employment? Is there a difference in the society and has it a strong impact on the situation? Is it a middle Europe “problem” or an EU wide one? Women have significant higher rates in short time employment and jobs with precarious working conditions. We would like to compare the situation in Austria as a middle Europe country with a long tradition of free economy and Lithuania as a former Eastern Block country with a socialism background as part of the Soviet Union. One of the main impact factors of the employment situation of women is the established family policy of the state. Consider regulations of maternity leave and the reentry of women in the job after childbirth we see an extreme disadvantage for women. This devaluation of women in the labour market gets enhanced by the possibilities of childcare (day nursery, kindergarden, school etc.) Method: Primarily we will use literature analysis to show the political and economic situation in the tow countries. Sources will be statistical data (for instance eurostat, unions, etc), political program of the governments, real political work (family policy; labour policy). Compared with programs of the EU to work against this development of women part time employment. Group # 1 Agnė Streckytė, Margarita Pusch, Wolfgang Gerstenecker