The southern European social model: familialism and the high rates of female employment in Portugal

Abstract

This paper focuses on the high rates of female full-time employment in Portugal and examines whether these are consistent with the familialistic features that typify the southern European social model. It employs a comparative methodology to investigate the extent to which recent policy developments and current social values in Portugal are aligned with the familialistic southern European tradition or whether they signal a departure from the model. The analysis reveals that the high rates of female employment are associated with particular features of the case of Portugal, namely, lower gender-based labour market segmentation and welfare state support for dual-earner families. However, this study also shows that the country still retains familialistic characteristics, which are particularly visible in the organization of care and in the persistence of traditional gender values. The article contributes to debates on the southern European social model and sheds light on how high female employment levels can be compatible with relatively high levels of familialism.