KWDI Korean Women’s Development Institute

Abstract

 

Executive Summary : A Study on the policy for family-friendly social environment formation

 

Gawon Chung

Seungah Hong

Nanjue Kim

Sujin Kim

Jihye Sung

 

The purpose of this study was to 1) analyze how community dwellers perceive the concept and factors comprising of family-friendly social environment, 2) to provide recommendations to improve the current “Family Friendly Social Environment Survey” conducted by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family every three years, and 3) to analyze the current status of the policy and projects related to family friendly social environment formation for deriving new policy alternatives.

 

Research findings indicate that community dwellers generally consider the safety and comfort, convenient transportation, sufficient medical environment important. While child(ren) rearing families put higher value on sufficient educational environment and family leisure opportunities, for older adult(s) families the social environment which has sufficient convenient facilities and under which family care burden is shared is important. Single person households think the social environment in which there is no prejudice and discrimination based on one’s traits or family types and which has sufficient convenient facilities. Compared to male respondents, female respondents indicate higher demand for family friendly community especially in terms of the safety and non-commercial space for spending time as a family.

 

Based on the research findings, following policy recommendations have been derived. First, it is required to expand the scope of the family-friendly social environment so that family responsibilities/ function is equally divided among family members as well as family care burden is to be shared socially. Family is not static but constantly changing as it evolves and generates new demands and the concept of family-friendly social environment needs to reflect it. Also, as well as supporting the conventional types of family, single person households deserve due attention from family-friendly policy. Second, the concept of family-friendly social environment needs to integrate the social capital and social culture of the community as the risks for negative stereotyping and hatred keep increasing. Third, it is crucial to evaluate the family-friendliness of the most widely used services and facilities in the community. How families perceive and experience the appropriateness, acceptability, and accessibility of each service and facility can be evaluated and the results are to be used to improve the family-friendliness of services and facilities in the community. Fourth, the Ministry of Gender Equality and local governments establish the Family-Friendly Social Environment Formation Execution Plans as the law(Act on the Promotion of Creation of Family-Friendly Social Environment Article 6) stipulates and implement the plan. Fifth, the role of Family Centers at local level in terms of promoting family-friendliness of the community needs to be operationalized especially including the role to promote the social integration, cohesiveness and communication among different generations, groups, families in the community. Lastly, the “Family Friendly Social Environment Survey” conducted by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family can be utilized as a tool for local governments to assess their own policy efforts to promote family-friendly social environment and to apply what community dwellers consider important for their quality of life as a family member.