Can you stay home today? Parents’ occupations, relative resources and division of care leave for sick children

Abstract

This is one of only a few studies on the division of care leave for sick children (temporary parental leave) between parents in Sweden and is the first to examine the importance of differences in parents' work characteristics. The study uses register data for parents with children born between 1999 and 2002 to analyse two aspects of parents' employment that may be of importance for the division of care leave: their relative resources, in this case wages, and different occupations. First, the results show that a father's share of care leave increases as the mother's relative wage decreases. This suggests that decisions about care leave are influenced by bargaining power gained through differences in resources. Second, the resources of couples where both partners work in the same occupation are more equal, and such couples also divide care leave more equally than couples with different occupations. However, the fact that sameoccupation couples tend to share care leave more equally does not seem to be explained by similarities in the partners' work characteristics, and may instead be due to unmeasured, stable characteristics. Greater income and career possibilities for the women are proposed as a possible explanation of the division of care leave for same-occupation couples.

Division of Childcare Leave among Parents of Children with a Serious Illness

“…However, our results do not suggest income division within couples being a strong predictor of the division of childcare within parental couples of children with cancer, as the associations found were few and modest. These results do not give much support for the theory of relative resources on the division of childcare among parents of seriously ill children, thus deviating from studies on parents in the general Swedish population (Amilon, 2007;Boye, 2015a). Our results suggest that other gender-related factors may be influential in explaining the unequal division found between mothers and fathers of seriously ill children, which have been indicated in previous studies on parents in the general population as well (Amilon, 2007;Nitsche & Grunow, 2018;Raley et al, 2012).…”

Trajectories of income and social benefits for mothers and fathers of children with cancer: A national cohort study in Sweden

“…In couples, the division of caregiving responsibilities is often skewed, with women assuming a caregiving role more often than men due to gendered norms and habits. 14,15 Also, economists and sociologists have suggested economists and sociologists have suggested that the decision regarding which parent takes the caregiving role also may relate to the balance of bargaining power (of each individual). [13][14][15] By assuming informal caregiving responsibilities, mothers may change their profession or reduce work responsibilities to spend more time at home; they also may experience reduced motivation for work and passion for their career.…”

“…14,15 Also, economists and sociologists have suggested economists and sociologists have suggested that the decision regarding which parent takes the caregiving role also may relate to the balance of bargaining power (of each individual). [13][14][15] By assuming informal caregiving responsibilities, mothers may change their profession or reduce work responsibilities to spend more time at home; they also may experience reduced motivation for work and passion for their career. 4,29 Lost opportunities for promotion and career options may exert a lasting impact on earnings.…”

Determinants of participation in childcare amongst fathers who work very long hours

“…Thus, the studies examined in this section include fathers irrespective of their work hours. Researchers examining the ways mothers' employment can shape fathers' involvement with children often draw upon the time availability and relative resources theoretical perspectives (Aassve et al, 2014;Boye, 2015;Nitsche & Grunow, 2018). These theories demonstrate how time, economic, and educational resources are key mechanisms that explain fathers' participation in childcare.…”

“…The relative resources perspective was originally applied to understanding gendered divisions in paid and unpaid labour. Despite this, for a number of years now, it has also often been adapted to understanding the gendered differences in childcare and paid labour (Boye, 2015;Bulanda, 2004;Craig & Mullan, 2011;Nitsche & Grunow, 2018;Raley et al, 2012). For example, Nitsche and…”