Sweden is by many people considered as a leading country when it comes to giving people the possibilities of combining family and work: the frequency of gainful employment among women is high while the birth rates are still at a relatively high level in a European comparison.

Behind this, there is a family policy which aims at making it possible for parents with small children to work. An importance factor is the parental insurance which makes it possible for parents to stay at home during the first year in their child's life or longer. Another important component in Swedish family policy is extensive publicly subsidised child-care which makes it possible for parents with small children to work. Family policy reforms in recent years include, for example, daddy months, maximum charges for pre-school and the possibility for municipalities to implement a child care allowance.

The research that is being carried out within this area studies what have been the effects of the implemented family policy on for example:

• the degree of employment for women and their career opportunities
• the wage gap between women and men
• the number of births
• children’s development and future success on the labour market
• the equal possibilities for children independent of family background.

Contact: Eva Mörk, Anna Sjögren