Parental leave, childcare and gender equality in the Nordic countries

Changes in gender equality? Swedish fathers’ parental leave, division of childcare and housework1

“…These fathers more often are employed in the public sector, in female dominated work places and it is found that the employer's attitudes matter for the leave use (Almqvist & Dahlgren, 2013;Bygren & Duvander, 2006;Haas, Allard, & Hwang, 2011). Furthermore, fathers' parental leave use have been related to later increased father-child engagement (Brandth & Gislason, 2011). For example, in a survey it was found that men who reported taking parental leave also reported more responsibility and more hours of childcare, as well as higher satisfaction with childcontact (Haas & Hwang, 2008).…”

Fathers' Leave, Fathers' Involvement and Child Development

“…5. Fathers' leave taking positively influences fathers' involvement in childcare and housework related tasks (Brandth and Gislason, 2012;Haas and Hwang, 2008;O'Brien and Moss, 2010;Nepomnyaschy and Waldfogel, 2007;and, Tanaka and Waldfogel, 2007). Positive father involvement, in turn, is associated with numerous benefits, including better outcomes for children (Baxter and Smart, 2011;Cabrera et al, 2007;Lamb, 2010;OECD, 2012a;Sarkadi et al, 2008;and, WHO, 2007) and for fathers themselves (Baxter and Smart, 2011;Eggebben, 2001;Smith, 2011;and, WHO, 2007).…”

“…The parental-leave period generally follows the period of maternity or paternity leave and is often supplementary to maternity and paternity-leave periods. Sweden was the first country to introduce parental leave for both parents in 1974 (Brandth and Gislason, 2012). Twenty years later other countries started extending parental-leave entitlements to fathers (O'Brien, 2009).…”

Part-Time Work in the Nordic Region III

“…As is the case in many other countries, Faroese women are more likely than men to be in tertiary education and also tend to pursue higher academic degrees than men (Gíslason, 2011;Studni, 2015). Although this is a feature one could expect to have an impact on the labour market, it may be the case that the gender culture still perpetuates traditional gender roles.…”

“…Although this is a feature one could expect to have an impact on the labour market, it may be the case that the gender culture still perpetuates traditional gender roles. Consequently, we may be faced with a "delayed reaction" in terms of differences in pay between men and women (Gíslason, 2011) as well as the clear gender hierarchy that can be observed in the labour market.…”