Held annually on 15th May, the International Day of Families (IDF) was established by the United Nations (UN) in 1993 (A/RES/47/237) to raise awareness among policymakers, experts and the general public of the problems and needs faced by families around the world and of effective ways of meeting those needs.
This year, the UN highlights the vital role of families and family-oriented policies and programmes in advancing sustainable development and achieving many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including the existing focus on family in most welfare policies.
Family policies are aimed at supporting families and regulating family life and pursue broader aims related to early childhood development, poverty alleviation, gender equality and work-family arrangements. These policies and instruments are therefore very broad, including child and family cash benefits, benefits provided to mothers, fathers and caregivers, high-quality health care and childcare services. Family benefits are the most common payment families receive throughout the EU, such as family or child allowances. State or market-based alternatives provide free or subsidised childcare services for toddlers (i.e., nurseries) and pre-school for children aged 3 – 6 years old. Formal Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services can help address a range of work, family and child issues. Affordable ECEC helps parents to participate in paid work, increasing family income and reducing the risk of family and child poverty. Childcare and sometimes adult care (within or out of the household), may generate career breaks and the need to rejoin the workforce which can be addressed through labour market policies.
The European Commission (EC) is increasingly involved in expanding family-oriented policies, social rights and care-related infrastructure, from the Lisbon Strategy (2000) and the social investment package to the launching of the European Pillar of Social Rights (2017) and the recently European Care Strategy (2022).
In SUSTAINWELL, we analyse the roles of families, the state and the market in reallocating resources and providing wellbeing over the lifecycle. Societies have changed over the past decades and so have done families which are now more diverse. Parents’ aspirations are also different, and many fathers and mothers wish to harmonise their professional career with an active family life. That’s why healthy, flexible work and work-life balance policies should be able to capture the dynamics of people’s own life projects while providing social protection for all. These policies could also extend the demographic dividend. Public policy should be able to reflect these changes in family and household structures and the population‘s socio-economic and cultural circumstances. The evolving needs of families and children over the life cycle means that the timing of a transfer can determine its effect (OECD, 2011). Recent research shows that investment in families is most efficient if it starts as early as possible when children are young, and the quality of childhood care and education matters for subsequent life chances. Therefore, a social investment strategy directed at children must be a centrepiece of any policy for social inclusion.
We will be launching a public consultation covering these topics later this year. Stay tuned!
SDGs related to this research:
©Image used under license from Adobe Stock.