Single parents competing in a dual?earner society: social policy to level the playing field

I published a new paper, in The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. It is part of a volume on Public Policy and the Socio-Economic Status of Single-Parent Families: The United States in Cross-National Perspective – edited by Laurie Maldonado, Amanda Sheely, and Janet Gornick. I demonstrate that single parents in dual-earner...

Nov 2022

Towards a new consolidated framework for analysing benefit coverage

Together with Kenneth Nelson, I am happy to share a new publication in Journal of European Social Policy (JESP). In the paper, we try to sort out some conceptual confusion in the literature regarding coverage, eligibility, and take-up. We propose a new framework, that aims to consolidate these concepts. The conceptualisation and measurement of benefit...

Mar 2021

The Palgrave Handbook of Family Policy

I’m very proud to announce The Palgrave Handbook of Family Policy, which edited together with Wim van Lancker. This open access handbook provides a multilevel view on family policies, combining insights on family policy outcomes at different levels of policymaking: supra-national organizations, national states, sub-national or regional levels, and...

Dec 2020

Community, work, and family in times of COVID-19

The full impact on community, work, family, and its intersections is not yet clear. As the Editorial Board of Community, Work & Family, we share a deep concern for the potential impact of this global health pandemic. We similarly stand in awe to all the communities, workers, and families doing their utmost to combat it. In this article, we do...

Sep 2020

Betaald ouderschapsverlof in Nederland: een gemiste kans

  Vanaf 2022 worden 9 van de 26 weken ouderschapsverlof waar ouders recht op hebben, betaald op het niveau van 50% van het dagloon. De overige 17 weken blijven onbetaald. De Nederlandse overheid volgt hiermee de minimale eisen gesteld in de Europese richtlijn, die in augustus vorig jaar van kracht werd. Zij volgt echter niet de géést van die richtlijn,...

May 2020

Het corona-virus maakt niet iedereen gelijk!

Mara A. Yerkes & Rense Nieuwenhuis Het coronavirus zou niet discrimineren volgens Bert Wagendorp. Deze aanname klopt hoogstwaarschijnlijk niet. Een sluitend antwoord op de vraag of het coronavirus discrimineert op basis van bijvoorbeeld gender laat op zich wachten: volgens onderzoekers in The Lancet ontbreekt tot nu onderzoek naar pandemieën en...

Apr 2020

Directions of thought for single parents in the EU

I’m very happy to introduce my new publication “Directions of thought for single parents in the EU” in Community, Work & Family Journal. The paper started off as a plenary address at the high-level conference “Europe for Gender Equality? Taking Stock – Taking Action” , organised by Finland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The address,...

Apr 2020

Trends in Women’s Employment and Poverty Rates in OECD Countries

Although employment growth is propagated as being crucial to reduce poverty across EU and OECD countries, the actual impact of employment growth on poverty rates is still unclear. This study presents novel estimates of the association between macro-level trends in women’s employment and trends in poverty, across 15 OECD countries from 1971 to 2013....

Nov 2019

The Diminishing Power of One?

In this study, we analyse the sharp rise in poverty among working-age singles and single parents in Sweden. In a dual-earner society like Sweden, we show that the return of mass unemployment in combination with the retreat of a generous and inclusive welfare state have substantially increased the poverty risks of single-adult households, who cannot...

Oct 2019

Gender equality and poverty are intrinsically linked

In a recently published paper in UN Women’s discussion paper series, I explore together with Teresa Munzi, Jörg Neugschwender, Heba Omar, and Flaviana Palmisano the link between various aspects of gender equality and relative income poverty. The paper, Gender equality and poverty are intrinsically linked: A contribution to the continued monitoring of...

Dec 2018