Our research focuses on the question of (potential) outcomes of gender equality policies. We try to complement cross-country comparative study with a cross-regional comparison in Switzerland. There are two benefits from this approach. First, Switzerland can be seen as a policy “laboratory” where many otherwise varying factors and policy are held constant, that is, regulated by federal policies. Yet, the 26 cantons display substantial variation in gender equality related policies. We are specifically concerned with policies that might affect the gendered division of work.This is due to the strong federalism with respect to the shape and implementation of such policies. Furthermore there is substantial variation in policy contexts. Cantons vary from very catholic and rural to secular and urban. Second, there is enough variation in gender inequality. For instance, there is almost as much variation in terms of EIP (employment impact of parenthood, a EUROSTAT indicator) between the cantons as within the EU. These two Swiss features make a comparative study of gender equality policies and outcome a potentially enriching endeavour.
We approach gender equality quantitatively by looking at the gendered division of work. We under- stand work in a comprehensive way, as the exclusive focus on the labour market would be too narrow. Gendered division of work permeates paid work, household work, family work, but also the division between formal and informal volunteer work. Formal volunteer work is associated with men’s work, often in leadership positions. Informal helping on the other hand is mainly done by women. We use the Swiss Labour Force Survey with the unpaid work supplement and introduce an index of dissimilarity to measure time use inequality in spheres of work simultaneously. This makes it possible to think big about time use inequality.
The central question of the paper is therefore: How do basic features of the cantonal gender equality “machineries” shape time use inequalities in the spheres of work? International comparisons of welfare states have for a long time ignored the variation within the Swiss welfare arrangement and have classified it as conservative with liberal traits, referring to national policies. However, present research emphasises its fragmented nature. So far, one can find only little research systematically comparing the variation of cantonal politics and policies. The results of the study are patterns in gender inequality. Such patterns, far from being simple cause-effect relations, provide interesting test cases for cross-nationally developed theories and typologies.
