Family leave and employment in the EU: transition of working mothers in and out of employment

Haataja, Anita

doi:10.1332/policypress/9781861346049.003.0013

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…Welfare reforms, like the right to parental leave, public childcare and so on, have made it easy for Swedish women to participate in paid work to a higher degree than in many other countries. That many women are working part time and are still making most use of the parental leave indicate, however, that a dual earner/dual carer model has not been completely realized (Haataja, 2005; Haataja and Nyberg, 2006). In the light of this and in an international comparative perspective, the HELA‐projekt and the ongoing changes in several Swedish municipalities concerning employment conditions are interesting, as the focus is on making more full‐time positions available for women as well.…”

Section: Discussion: Working Hours and Gender Equalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Working Hours and Gender Equality: Examples from Care Work in the Swedish Public Sector

Jonsson

2011

Gender Work & Organization

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This study addresses questions related to the double-edged character of part-time work by looking at the Swedish situation, with its large share of female part-time work as well as a high share of involuntary part-time employment among women. The discussion relates to the changing conditions in and ongoing modernization of the public sector -an important employer for women -with a focus on care work organized by the municipalities. The issue that is addressed is the part-time regime that characterizes these jobs and the likely consequences of a policy change on contracted working hours. This change has been brought about by concerns on the need to meet the growing demand for personnel in care work but also by a generally expressed dissatisfaction among the women who are employed part-time involuntarily. The attempt by several municipalities to introduce more full-time positions is a result of a government programme (2002)(2003)(2004)(2005) aiming to reduce the problem with part-time unemployment. Based on the reports from that programme, this article explores the consequences of the ongoing remodelling of the working time regime, especially concerning gender equality.

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Section: Discussion: Working Hours and Gender Equalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…3 3 There are many problems concerning how part‐time, involuntary part‐time and part‐time unemployment are measured in different official statistics that are not discussed in detail here. See, for example, Forssell and Jonsson, 2005; Haataja, 2005; Jonsson and Nyberg, 2009; Nyberg, 2003. …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Working Hours and Gender Equality: Examples from Care Work in the Swedish Public Sector

Jonsson

2011

Gender Work & Organization

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“…Despite the low compensation level many mothers use this leave, often until the child is 1.5–2.5 years old (see e.g. Haataja and Juutilainen, 2014). As HCA cannot be paid at the same time as a father is taking his quota, the father needs to negotiate with the mother when to take his leave if the mother intends to use HCA.…”

Section: The Finnish Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Family leaves for fathers: Non-users as a test for parental leave reforms

Saarikallio-Torp

Miettinen

2021

Journal of European Social Policy

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The proportion of total parental leave days taken by fathers has increased in all Nordic countries almost hand in hand with parental leave reforms. However, the average pattern of fathers’ parental leave uptake hides the fact that a considerable proportion of fathers use no parental leave, even when they are earmarked for the father. In this study, we focus on the proportion and characteristics of non-users, that is, fathers who do not use parental leave. We distinguish two non-user groups: fathers who use no parental leave, not even birth-related leave and fathers who do not use the father’s quota. This distinction is relevant because it reflects the design and institutional status of fathers’ parental leave. Further, factors related to using no parental leave are likely to be somewhat different to those related to not using the father’s quota. In Finland, the father’s quota was introduced in 2003, but it became fully independent leave for the father only in 2013. We also investigate if the 2013 reform was followed by any changes in fathers’ parental leave use and in the profiles of non-users. We use a unique longitudinal register data that covers practically (fathers to) all children born in 2010–2015 and follow parental leave use until 2018. We find that the 2013 reform was followed by a considerable increase in the uptake of the father’s quota. The proportion of fathers who used no parental leave remained stable, but the reform encouraged some fathers to take longer, independent leave in addition to the birth-related leave. Overall, less educated and low-income fathers were less likely to use any parental leave, and if they took leave, they were more likely to use only the birth-related leave. However, the 2013 reform slightly diminished socioeconomic disparities in the use of the father’s quota.

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“…has recognised the importance of familyfriendly policies as a means to combat these challenges (European Commission, 2013). Haataja (2005) argued that in countries where there is no support for balancing family and work, fertility rates are decreasing and women's labour market participation is increasing. Only the Nordic countries, with their strong social and family policies, have managed to sustain a fertility rate while increasing women's participation in the labour force (Haataja, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Haataja (2005) argued that in countries where there is no support for balancing family and work, fertility rates are decreasing and women's labour market participation is increasing. Only the Nordic countries, with their strong social and family policies, have managed to sustain a fertility rate while increasing women's participation in the labour force (Haataja, 2005). Furthermore, there seems to be a link between fathers' uptake of parental leave and sustained fertility rates in the Nordic countries (Duvander, Lappegard, & Andersson, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental leave policies and time use for mothers and fathers: a case study of Spain and Sweden

Hagqvist

Nordenmark

Pérez

et al. 2017

Society, Health & Vulnerability

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States play an important role in gender equality through policy structuring. In this case study, the aim is to explore whether changes in parental leave policies over two decades trickle down to changes in gendered time use in two polarised countries: Sweden and Spain, represented by the Basque Country. Sweden represents dual-earner countries with high relative gender equality, whereas Spain represents a south European policy model supporting a breadwinning/homemaker ideal. The results show that changes in the gendered time use among mothers and fathers in both countries are associated with changes in parental leave policies. Changes in policies directed towards increasing gender equality reduce the gender gap in time use among mothers and fathers and seem to increase gender equality within a country. From these results, the conclusion is that parental leave policies that are structured to promote or enable gender equality could reduce the gender time gap in work among mothers and fathers.

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Family leave and employment in the EU: transition of working mothers in and out of employment

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Working Hours and Gender Equality: Examples from Care Work in the Swedish Public Sector

Working Hours and Gender Equality: Examples from Care Work in the Swedish Public Sector

Family leaves for fathers: Non-users as a test for parental leave reforms

Parental leave policies and time use for mothers and fathers: a case study of Spain and Sweden

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