Comparative analysis of the work- life balance policies in Austria and the Czech Republic

This thesis discusses two family policy models in the two selected Central European countries; the Czech Republic and Austria. The aim is to carry out a comparative analysis of these measures of family policy, which relates to aid reconciliation of family and professional life for families with children. Within this study of individual level measures of family policies in the selected countries, first the measures involving the formation of family and work roles in family life will be explored, followed by the possibility of interaction of the two family policies. The integral parts of the analysis will asses these measures from a gender perspective. The result of this work is a detailed comparison of the components of family policy, which affect the reconciliation of family and professional lives of families with child/children, including evaluation of the effectiveness of individual measures in the two selected countries. Key words: balancing work and family, family policy, comparative analysis, gender, family, maternity / parental leave, the labor market, institutional care for childre