Who cares? assessing generosity and gender equality in parental leave policy designs in 21 countries
Top Cited Papers
- 28 June 2010
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Journal of European Social Policy
- Vol. 20 (3), 196-216
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0958928710364434
Abstract
Parental leave laws can support new parents in two complementary ways: by offering job-protected leave and by offering financial support during that leave. This study assesses the design of parental leave policies operating in 21 high-income countries. Specifically, the study analyzes how these countries vary with respect to the generosity of their parental leave policies; the extent to which their policy designs are gender egalitarian; and the ways in which these two crucial dimensions are inter-related. The study finds that public policies in all 21 study countries protect at least one parent’s job for a period of weeks, months, or years following the birth or adoption of a child. The availability and generosity of wage replacement varies widely, as does the gendered nature of policy designs. Four countries stand out as having policies that are both generous and gender egalitarian: Finland, Norway, Sweden and — unexpectedly — Greece.Keywords
This publication has 21 references indexed in Scilit:
- Parents' care and career: comparing parental leave policiesPublished by Cambridge University Press (CUP) ,2008
- Gender Equality and Fertility in SwedenMarriage & Family Review, 2006
- Paid to Care: The Origins and Effects of Care Leave Policies in Western EuropeSocial Politics, 2003
- Parental Leave and Equal Opportunities: Experiences in Eight European CountriesJournal of European Social Policy, 1999
- Family Responsive Policies and Employee Retention Following ChildbirthSocial Forces, 1998
- The Economic Consequences of Parental Leave Mandates: Lessons from EuropeThe Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1998
- Supporting the Employment of Mothers: Policy Variation Across Fourteen Welfare StatesJournal of European Social Policy, 1997
- Citizenship, Welfare State Regimes and Gender StratificationCurrent Sociology, 1996
- After The Family WagePolitical Theory, 1994
- Gender and the Social Rights of Citizenship: The Comparative Analysis of Gender Relations and Welfare StatesAmerican Sociological Review, 1993