Suchergebnisse

There are an estimated 15 million AIDS orphans worldwide. Families play an important role in safeguarding orphans, but they may be increasingly compromised by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The international aid community has recognized the need to help families continue caring for orphaned children by strengthening their safety nets. Before we build new structures, however, we need to know the extent to which community and public safety nets already provide support to families with orphans. To address this gap, we analyzed nationally representative data from 27,495 children in the 2004-2005 Malawi Integrated Household Survey. We found that communities commonly assisted orphan households through private transfers; organized responses to the orphan crisis were far less frequent. Friends and relatives provided assistance to over 75% of orphan households through private gifts, but the value of such support was relatively low. Over 40% of orphans lived in a community with support groups for the chronically ill and approximately a third of these communities provided services specifically for orphans and other vulnerable children. Public programs, which form a final safety net for vulnerable households, were more widespread. Free/subsidized agricultural inputs and food were the most commonly used public safety nets by children's households in the past year (44 and 13%, respectively), and households with orphans were more likely to be beneficiaries. Malawi is poised to drastically expand safety nets to orphans and their families, and these findings provide an important foundation for this process.

The entry of large numbers of women with children into the paid labor force was a major demographic shift throughout North America and Europe during the last half of the 20th century. Mexican women have gone through similar changes in employment, though less research has been done to document their experiences. As in North America and Europe, Mexican women and girls are doing more unpaid caregiving and housework than men and boys. The issue of central concern in this article is the impact that gender disparities in family carework have on women's educational and work opportunities and experiences in Chiapas, Mexico. This article shows that girls' and women's unequal share of the unpaid childcare and housework has a substantial impact on their school performance, job choice, wages, and job retention. In 99 in-depth, open-ended interviews with working mothers in Chiapas, Mexico, 18% said that unpaid caregiving in the home affected their own education negatively; while 9% said that unpaid caregiving had a negative impact on their daughters' education. Thirteen percent of women interviewed reported job loss due to caregiving, while 43% reported income loss. Altogether, unpaid caregiving negatively impacted the school or work lives of 52% of the working mothers we interviewed. Their experiences are detailed in this article and have broad relevance for policy debates around the role of social services, educational and work benefits in improving the lives of men and women in Mexico and other industrializing countries.

OBJECTIVES: Two thirds of Canadian adults participate in the workforce. Their health and that of their families can be markedly affected by the availability of paid sick leave, paid leave to care for family members' health and paid parental leave. METHODS: We gathered data from all Canadian provinces and territories on these essential leave policies and compared Canadian policies with data collected on 186 United Nations (UN) countries. RESULTS: While Canada pays sickness benefits for 15 weeks for serious illnesses, globally at least 90 countries provide benefits for at least 26 weeks or until recovery. Moreover, within Canada only Saskatchewan and Quebec guarantee job protection if sick leave lasts over 12 days. RESULTS: The federal government guarantees Canadian workers six weeks of paid leave to provide care or support to gravely ill family members. Only 39 countries guarantee such leave with pay. Most, but not all, provinces guarantee workers' job protection during compassionate care leave. RESULTS: Eligibility for job protection during parental leave varies across the country from having no restrictions to requiring at least one year of service. CONCLUSION: Compared with Canada, many countries offer a longer duration of paid sick leave for employees and replace a higher percentage of wages lost. Internationally, Canada performs well in having policies that guarantee paid leave to care for dependants with serious illnesses, but it lags behind in the provision of paid leave to address the health needs of children or family members' with non-life-threatening conditions. Finally, while paid parental leave is of adequate duration, the wage replacement rate lowers its accessibility to families with limited means.

Resumen.Es necesario que los poderes públicos nacionales que acarician la posibilidad de implantar o reformar la licencia remunerada por enfermedad conozcan los métodos que se usan para costear esta prestación. Basándose en datos mundiales sobre la legislación al respecto, los autores infieren que el tipo de régimen vigente—responsabilidad del empresario, seguro social, asistencia social o una mezcla de ellos—influye mucho en la duración y cuantía de la prestación. Sin embargo, no hallan ninguna relación estrecha de la duración y la generosidad de la licencia por enfermedad con indicadores económicos como el PIB por habitante, la tasa de desempleo o la competitividad nacional. Por último, los autores estudian los instrumentos capaces de garantizar una licencia eficaz y un rendimiento económico óptimo.

Résumé.Les responsables politiques qui envisagent d'instituer ou de réformer le congé de maladie ont besoin d'en comprendre les mécanismes de financement possibles. Partant de données mondiales, les auteurs observent que la durée et la générosité de l'indemnisation dépendent du modèle utilisé– responsabilité de l'employeur, assurance sociale, assistance sociale, ou une combinaison des trois –, mais ils ne relèvent aucun lien significatif avec les indicateurs économiques tels que PIB par habitant, taux de chômage ou compétitivité nationale. Ils envisagent aussi les mécanismes politiques propices à l'efficacité du congé de maladie et à la solidité des résultats économiques.

Abstract.Decision‐makers in countries considering adoption or reform of paid sick leave policies need to understand the mechanisms used to finance sick leave provision. Using global data on sick leave legislation, the authors find the type of model used – employer liability, social insurance, social assistance, or a combination thereof – has significant implications for the duration and generosity of sickness benefits. However, they find no significant relationship between the duration or generosity of sick leave and economic indicators such as per capita GDP, unemployment rates, or national competitiveness. Potential mechanisms enabling both effective sick leave policies and strong economic outcomes are discussed.