European Men’s Use of Parental Leave and Their Involvement in Child Care and Housework

Abstract

Although parental leave has long formed part of traditional labor relations, it was not until the nineteen seventies that it began to be regarded in some Scandinavian countries as a way ofi balancing work and family life as well as of enhancing gender equality (Duvander,

Can an egalitarian reform in the parental leave system reduce the motherhood labor penalty? Some evidence from Spain

“…Nevertheless, it seems to be a phenomenon established firmly enough and one treated with sufficient sensitivity by society. In this sense reference is often made to a "new father" (Yeung et al, 2001) or "superdads" (Kaufman, 2013); of a "new masculinity" (Connell, 2014); of a "new culture of fatherhood" (Wall and Arnold, 2007;Meil, 2013); or of a "involved fathering" (Gatrell et al, 2015). This typology of father (found mostly among young males with high levels of education and egalitarian gender attitudes) may not be the mainstream but it is emerging.…”

“…The arguments related to gender equality are a fundamental line in the justification of these policies of parental leave reform. The literature on this issue shows that men tend to respond well to the introduction of well paid and non-transferable leaves (Duvander and Johansson, 2012;Ekberg et al, 2013;Escot et al, 2014;Castro and Pazos, 2016); meanwhile, taking longer leaves may promote greater subsequent involvement of the father in childcare (Duvander and Jans, 2008;Haas and Hwang, 2008;Kotsadam and Finseraas, 2011;Meil, 2013;Arnalds et al, 2013;Fernández-Cornejo et al, 2016a); and these resulting higher levels of shared responsibility in the care of babies and young children may result in mothers making fewer professional sacrifices in order to care for the child (the motherhood penalty would be lower).…”

“…In the literature on the sexual division of work (Meil, 2013;Lapuerta, 2013) two types of influences can be distinguished which simultaneously determine how housework (especially childcare) is divided between the couple. The first one is related to economic incentives (and opportunity cost), and includes the comparative advantage approach and that of bargaining models.…”

Turning points in the transition to parenthood: Variability of father involvement over time

“…A large body of research relates to father involvement in care work and specific phases of fatherhood. It has been shown that father involvement depends on various influences that range from gendered expectations and attitudes towards the division of labour (Shirani et al 2012;Poortman/van der Lippe 2009;Baxter 2000), embodied experiences and differences (Doucet 2009(Doucet , 2013Draper 2003) to parental leave policies (Saraceno/Keck 2011;Brandth/Kvande 2009;Meil 2013;Schmidt et al 2015) and parents' occupation and working hours (Norman et al 2013;McGill 2014). Moreover, empirical evidence has shown that it is crucial for understanding father involvement to include the pre-and postnatal phases in the analysis.…”

Male and female involvement in the birth and child‐rearing process

“…New paternity ideals arise, which praise the bond between fathers and children, and their frequent and early interaction (Bonino ). Some authors point out that the evolution of social policies for gender equality and specifically paternity leaves for birth are enabling a more active participation of men in the domestic sphere in several European countries (Meil ).…”