CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2024
| Author | Baydar, Simge |
|---|---|
| Title | Discourse, Policy, And Gender: Comparative Analysis Of Family Welfare And Labor Market Dynamics In Turkey And Hungary |
| Summary | This thesis explores how family welfare policies and government discourse influence gender roles and labor market dynamics in Turkey and Hungary. Governments play an important role in shaping ideal family structures through their policies and the ideas they promote through discourse and content. Turkey and Hungary provide interesting case studies because their conservative regimes focus heavily on traditional family values and increasing birth rates. In Turkey, President Erdoğan advocates for traditional gender roles, urging women to embrace motherhood and have at least three children, often citing religious and cultural reasons. However, the actual family welfare benefits in Turkey are limited in number and they predominantly target at low-income families. This gap between the government's pronatalist rhetoric and the lack of substantial policy support correlates to low female labor force participation. However, Prime Minister Orbán of Hungary likewise supports a greater birth rate and traditional Christian values. Straight families with two earners receive greater welfare payments in Hungary than in Turkey according to social policy. Yet these advantages are often linked to work, which relates to greater rates of female labor force participation, even despite the conservative rhetoric. This thesis applies the theoretical frameworks of Diane Sainsbury and Sigrid Leitner to the cases of Turkey and Hungary based on the family welfare programs they provide, highlighting the inconsistencies between the rhetoric and policies. Furthermore, it examines labor market participation and employment rates, as well as reasons why women are not in the workforce, to understand these dynamics better. This comparative analysis analyzes the complex nature of welfare states. |
| Supervisor | Duman, Anıl |
| Department | Political Science MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2024/baydar_simge.pdf |
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