‘She has mellowed me into the idea of SPL’: unpacking relational resources in UK couples’ discussions of Shared Parental Leave take-up

Abstract

This article undertakes an in-depth examination into how two couples negotiate the sharing of parental leave, to understand how ‘relational resources’ may be drawn on in transforming gendered practices. The couples are selected from a longitudinal study of 42 first-time parents taking various combinations of leave. Drawing on a ‘listening guide’ approach, I analyse the interactions observed in couple interviews with a couple that shares, and another couple that does not share leave. I show that in trying to convince their partners to take leave, both women draw on gendered scripts, either in how the interaction is managed, or by the discourses that are drawn on. Moreover, fathers’ work context strongly mediates negotiations, as all participants judge this to trump other considerations regarding leave, reinforcing men’s attachment to the workplace. More research is needed to understand how these process shape divisions of paid and unpaid work in the long term.

Caregiving fathers and the negotiation of crossroads: Journeys of continuity and change

“…Against this context, a growing body of research on primary carer fathers and, to a lesser extent, those who share care equally, has sought to uncover how such counter‐normative roles are played out, focusing on the extent of responsibilities taken on, shifts in parental and gender identities and challenges that can be faced (e.g., Brandth & Kvande, 2018; Doucet, 2017; Kelland, 2022; Ranson, 2010; Soloman, 2017; Twamley, 2021). Such work often has highlighted the range of care roles and depth of intimacy exhibited by fathers in such families, showing, for example, how skills and bonds developed through everyday caring have prompted the embrace of nurturing paternal identities centered on affective closeness (Ranson, 2015).…”

Paternal Leave Entitlement and Workplace Culture: A Key Challenge to Paternal Mental Health

“…Homogenous legally mandated parental leave policies are one of the most efficient solutions to standardising the irregularity in parental leave-taking arrangements [ 33 ]. A concurrent lack of discussion about fathers’ leave-taking decisions [ 34 ] and absence of ‘managerial champions’ [ 35 ] laying the cornerstones for these conversations manifest in a scarcity of social support for fathers at work [ 19 , 36 ].…”

Glimpses of change? UK fathers navigating work and care within the context of Shared Parental Leave

“…We recognize this approach (self-selection) may have increased the likelihood of those taking significant portions of leave to volunteer, with the fathers taking between 1 and 9 months of SPL and the majority (20/25) taking 3 months or more. While acknowledging the reach limitations of social media, given the eligibility criteria for SPL, and other barriers (Twamley, 2020), our sample is broadly reflective of the profiles of men who have access to leave (Birkett & Forbes, 2019). The majority were first-time fathers, although eight already had children, which Redshaw and Henderson (2013) suggest makes them less likely to be involved in childcare.…”

“…Whereas existing research on parents' SPL intentions documents motivational and affordability barriers (Twamley, 2020); to the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to specifically capture the lived experiences of fathers who have utilized SPL. We ask whether, at the level of lived experience, SPL has the potential to disrupt or unsettle what have hitherto been traditional gendered expectations around early infant care (Dermott & Miller, 2015).…”