Agency in parents' fertility behaviours—Gaps in the Polish family policy system

In: Social policy and administration, Band 53, Heft 7, S. 1108-1120

Abstract

AbstractThe aim of this article is to analyse the possibilities and decisions made about procreation by Polish parents in the context of the family policy system. Fertility is here understood as a result of individual decisions originating from an assessment of people's situations and potential barriers in parenting. This issue is important because Polish society is facing a severe demographic crisis due to low fertility rates. In recent years, the family policy system has been substantially reformed, yet interviews with parents indicate that these reforms do not fully address the problems, which parents have to deal with in everyday life. According to their experiences, the Polish welfare state should focus more closely on the issues of gender inequality in the household, lack of stability in the labour market, low salaries, the high cost of child rearing, and the lack of suitable housing for Polish families. The analysis is based on in‐depth interviews with Polish parents of children aged 1–7 and statistics collected by Statistics Poland, the Social Insurance Institution, and the International Social Survey Program.