Page 118 - IJPS-11-3

International Journal of
Population Studies Family policy from a global perspective

Figure 2. Adult children’s responsibility for elderly parents. Note: Higher score: Stronger disagreement. Source: World Values Survey.

The WVS includes a set of composite indices South Korea, and Japan, followed by other European and
(Welzel, 2013; see also https://www.worldvaluessurvey. East Asian countries, top the autonomy index. However,
o r g/WV SC o n t en ts.js p?CMS ID=w e lze li several of these countries also fall in the mid to lower
dx&CMSID=welzelidx). We assess a country’s range. Latin American countries generally score lower on
progressivity using Welzel’s indicators of disbelief and this scale, as do African countries, except for South Africa.
autonomy, each of which is constructed from three items
in the WVS questionnaire. The scores of these indices are 3.3. Gender roles
standardized and can range from 0 to 1, with higher scores Attitudes toward women’s and men’s roles in the family
indicating greater levels of secularization and autonomy. continue to vary worldwide, as do attitudes toward
Secularization is measured using the sub-index DISBELIEF, women’s changing roles in the labor market (Dotti Sani &
which combines information on the importance of religion Quaranta, 2017). The increase in the proportion of married
in a person’s life, religiosity, and religious practice. The women and mothers who are employed outside the
most notable variation can be found in Asia, ranging from
the least secular (Qatar) to countries with the highest home has often not been accompanied by corresponding
DISBELIEF scores, including China, Macau, Hong Kong, changes in societal attitudes and values. Even in countries
and South Korea (Figure 3), echoing the claim that where women’s labor force participation has significantly
Asia exhibits deep diversity in terms of family systems increased, results indicate that both men and women
(Therborn, 2014). European countries and Oceania are still prefer a primary familial role for women, especially
generally quite secularized, although Poland, Greece, and when young children are present (Alwin et al., 1992),
Italy score considerably lower on the index, placing them and “liberal-egalitarian” ideologies coexist with a highly
on par with most Latin American countries. In Africa unequal gender division of labor in families (Abramowski,
and many Asian countries, particularly Islamic societies, 2020). Thus, the underlying notion of the proper societal
religion and religious practices play a very important role. roles for men and women can undoubtedly influence
family policy. Policy instruments can differ substantially
To assess the values that are particularly prominent based on whether the aim is to support stay-at-home
in various societies, the WVS asks about the importance mothers, dual-earner couples, or actively promote men’s
of qualities that children can be encouraged to learn at caregiving roles within the family.
home. Welzel’s sub-index AUTONOMY, which we use as a
measure of emancipative values, combines the importance To measure normative factors associated with the care
of independence, imagination, and obedience (reversed) and nurturing of children, we examine attitudes toward
as qualities for children (Figure 4). Norway, Sweden, female employment and its implications for young children

Volume 11 Issue 3 (2025) 112 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.1993