Making time to care: A new ERC project on unions and the politics of leave policies
- Date
- 10 September 2025
- Location
- English Park, 3-1012
- Type
- Seminar
- Lecturer
- Cassandra Engeman
- Web page
- https://www.uu.se/en/department/sociology/research/the-uppsala-economy-and-society-lab
- Organiser
- The Uppsala Economy and Society Lab, Department of Sociology
- Contact person
- Emma von Essen
- Phone
- 0708837442
In this presentation, Cassandra Engeman will share her plans for her five-year MakingTime project, which proposes a comparative, longitudinal and mixed-method investigation into the policy consequences of labour movements. As the project started last month, she will share findings on the parenting leave data that has been collected to date and her previous studies that led to this proposal. The presentation will conclude with a pitch for applications to join the research team, including the open PhD position in Sociology (deadline 1 October).
Abstract:
At some point in our working lives, most of us will need time off to address our own health needs or care for loved ones. The European Commission has targeted work-life balance, including parenting and carers leave provisions, as priority areas (EU/2019/1158), but rights to job-protected leave from work for care purposes (care leave) remain uneven across countries. Trade unions, their confederations, and works councils may be key sources of care leave policy reforms. Despite membership decline, trade unions still represent a sizeable share of the electorate, and women are now a majority or near-majority of union members in many countries. Trade unions thus present a source of political empowerment for women, who still provide a majority of informal care work for children and families. While membership feminization may shift unions’ policy priorities toward work-life balance issues, it is yet unclear that organized labour has a uniform interest in or ability to expand social investments. Additionally, organized labour’s relationship to recent welfare state developments, including care leave provisions, is underexamined.