Generational and gender contracts in policy challenges of ageing populations

The population ageing at a time of neoliberal and populist politics has contributed to gender backlash by increasing emphasis on women's roles as mothers and caregivers for older adults. The aims of higher birth rates and increase in the supply of informal care for older adults place pressures on women, to whom care has been assigned. Feminist scholarship is essential in feminist governance as a provider of empirical and conceptual analysis on care. One useful concept is gender contract (Hirdman 1988), consisting of sets of implicit and explicit rules that govern the relations between genders. It has assisted in making the distribution of paid and unpaid work within families visible. At present, attention has been given to generational contracts as the relations between generations are undergoing major transformations due to multiple societal changes, such as the end of full employment, climate crisis and the retrenchment of welfare states in Europe. Generational contract steers the roles and responsibilities of overlapping generations to produce benefits for all age groups. However, the concept has primarily focused on economic transfers and intergenerational solidarity within families while less attention has been paid to care and inequalities embedded in the provision and receipt of care. We analyze how gender and generational contracts intersect in ageing societies focusing on Finnish care policies and practices for children and older adults. Finland provides an interesting case as it is often portrayed as a forerunner in gender equality. Yet is simultaneously one of the fastest-ageing societies in Europe, facing rapidly declining fertility rates and growing care demands. We draw on policy documents and national statistics on care policies, coverage and public expenditure on care for children and older adults from 1990 onwards to explore how responsibilities for care are defined, distributed and transformed over time. We illustrate how gendered and generational positions and norms shape individuals’ and institutions’ role in care provision, and what kinds of tensions arise between policy objectives, such as extended working lives and family-based care, and care practices. Hirdman, Y. (1988) Genussystemet-reflexioner kring kvinnors sociala underordning. Tidskrift för genusvetenskap 9(3), 49–63. https://doi.org/10.55870/tgv.v9i3.5365