VID Colloquium
How can parental leave balance the gender division of labour? Recent empirical findings from Europe.
Helene Dearing, Institute for Advanced Studies, Department of Economics and Finance
Date: Tue, 23 Oct. 2012, Time: 10:00 - 11:00
There has been increasingly interest in parental leave policies as instruments for the implementation of gender equality in society. This review essay explores the link between parental leave policies and the gender division of labour - referring to both paid employment and unpaid family work. Against this backdrop, the essay systematically reviews evidence from quantitative empirical research on the effects of parental leave policies on mothers’ employment and fathers’ involvement in family work. The review is anchored in the on-going policy debate within the European Union and for this reason concentrates on most recent literature studying European countries. The article suggests that there are specific aspects of parental leave that seem to be especially relevant for a more balanced division of labour, such as the duration of leave, an individual entitlement of leave rights, the prevalence of an income ceiling for leave payments and the possibility to work part-time during leave. The article identifies promising areas of future research and concludes that parental leave policies can serve as a powerful tool contributing to a more balanced division of labour.
About the presenterHelene Dearing is a researcher at the Institute for Advanced Studies and recipient of a DOC-team-fellowship of the Austrian Academy of Science (ÖAW). Her research interests include parental leave, gender equality, mothers' employment and fathers' participation in family work. In her dissertation she studies the effects of different models of parental leave in European Union countries on the gender division of labour. Her work has appeared in Fiscal Studies.