خلاصة:
This article presents a comparative analysis of family support policies in Iran and eight selected countries: Sweden, Germany, Ireland, France, the United States, Japan, Malaysia, and South Africa. The aim of this study is to identify the main axes of family policymaking and to examine the diversity of national approaches in addressing demographic and social challenges such as declining fertility rates, changing family structures, and increasing female labor force participation. Data were collected through library research and analyzed using thematic analysis techniques. The findings reveal three main categories—focus on women, focus on women within the family, and focus on fertility—as well as 13 subthemes. The results show that leading countries such as Sweden, France, and Germany employ a multi-layered support model that includes financial aid, childcare services, paid parental leave, and gender equality promotion policies. In contrast, countries such as Japan and the United States implement more limited but targeted policies in specific areas, while South Africa focuses primarily on basic livelihood support. Although Iran has made efforts in cultural and social domains, it still requires broader and more targeted executive policies in areas such as diverse care services, employment support for parents, and work-life balance.
ملخص الجهاز:
For example, comparative studies show that Scandinavian welfare states focus on universal family-oriented policies, including the provision of public childcare services, generous parental leaves, and policies that strengthen work-life balance and increase gender equality (Ver Delirs, 2023).
Family support policy may employ a set of specialized tools, which include: providing free health services for mothers with children; providing social benefits such as subsidies, benefits, and bonuses; providing special leaves such as maternity leave, parental leave, and childcare leave; adopting tax tools including tax discounts and tax exemptions; formulating flexible forms of employment to balance work and life; providing special incentives such as housing benefits; providing basic childcare including nurseries, preschools, schools, and daycare centers; and also providing special discount cards, especially for families with many children (Ricas, 2014).
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