Focus on family policy

Family policy is a perennial favourite in the media. However, it has been several years since a book on the subject was published. Family Policy in Switzerland" is a new publication that aims to make the topic accessible to a wider audience. The book sheds light on how the family has changed in the context of social and historical developments, but also takes a look at future challenges. The fact is: a lot has happened, and just as much remains to be done.

The family is not just a group of people, but a legally recognised unit. It serves as a point of contact for many stakeholders, such as the state or schools, and thus takes on a public dimension. It is therefore legitimate to develop a family policy that focuses on the family as a unit, whatever form this may take.

The demand for gender equality has had the effect of questioning the traditional image of the family.

The first family policy interventions were aimed at the classic family image, which ascribes the role of sole breadwinner and head of the family to the father and the responsibility for raising children and running the household to the mother. This constellation hardly does justice to today's reality. The family has changed fundamentally in the course of the 21st century - diversity has replaced a narrowly defined construct. Today, there is no longer just one way of living as a family, but many different ways. A modern family policy must do justice to this fact.

New awareness and old habits

Social developments are the driving force behind these changes: The influence of traditions is waning, gender stereotypes are crumbling, the level of education is rising - especially among women, who are becoming increasingly involved in the labour market.

In fact, almost 80 per cent of women today have a career, and women are in the majority at universities. Is the reconciliation of family and career, which affects women just as much as men, not a legitimate desire in the 21st century? Especially as there are other good reasons to support the family: it provides indispensable services that are not included in the calculation of gross domestic product. Take, for example, support for elderly parents or childcare.

All these tasks, as self-evident as they may seem, represent costs as soon as society, rather than the family, takes them on. This is another reason why family policy is becoming increasingly important. The demand for gender equality has resulted in democratic rules taking effect and the traditional image of the family being called into question. At the same time, traditions, stereotypes, values and feelings of guilt have staying power. As a result, today's family is caught between the ideal and reality, which sometimes leads to fractures and instability.

If we look at the positive development of women in society - in the knowledge that there are still many obstacles to overcome before equality is achieved - we should not forget another family member whose importance is growing: the child.

Since the 1970s, the birth rate has been falling - to put it bluntly, the survival of society is at stake.

Society's view of children has changed dramatically. Not only has the child now officially become a legal subject and is regarded as an independent individual - politicians are also focussing on their development potential. The expansion of state daycare centres and various interventions for early intervention in the zero to four age group are a good example of this.

Since the 1970s, the birth rate has been falling - to put it bluntly, the survival of society is at stake. It is therefore hardly surprising that child welfare and children's rights have never been as much in the spotlight at both national and international level as they are today.

The next hurdles on the way

Life expectancy has risen and the mortality rate has fallen. This expands society to include the category of pensioners. Today, most political actors are aware that we need a policy that promotes intergenerational relationships and supports family members in caring for children, parents and other relatives. Childhood and old age have thus taken on a more important social, political, legal and economic status. This is accompanied by an expanded and more comprehensive legal basis. Child protection standards, the recognition of new family and living arrangements, gender equality, divorce law and marriage for all show that the law is responding to developments in society, albeit sometimes with a delay. Such legal regulations make it possible to enshrine the recognition of the rights and obligations of families and their members towards each other and towards society.

Issues that affect families at their core go far beyond aspects such as the compatibility of gainful employment and family work. There is a need for action, for example, in tax policy, in the material hardships that certain families have to endure, in the lack of women in management positions or with regard to interrupted professional careers and the associated consequences. The book «Family Policy in Switzerland» examines these and other topics from a political, legal, economic and historical perspective.