Abstract
Current debates regarding parental leave policies revolve around the rights and duties of fathers as well as mothers both in Norway and much of Western Europe. Feminists are divided over whether reducing maternity leave in order to increase paternity leave inhibits or supports greater gender equality. This final chapter summarizes the findings of the book and offers some insights on how the historical development of Norwegian maternity policies can inform current discussions of parental leave and the rights, benefits, and limitations placed on recipients. The chapter reiterates the rhetorical and political framework that women worked to create prior to the Second World War and the ways in which this affects the current shape of maternity and parental leave policies and the discussions that surround them throughout Western Europe.
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Notes
- 1.
In 2011, only 10 percent of all eligible fathers took leave beyond the allocated paternal quota. Berit Brandth and Elin Kvande, “Norway Country Note,” in International Review of Leave Policies and Research, 2016, accessed November 22, 2017, http://www.leavenetwork.org/lp_and_r_reports/.
- 2.
Hanne Bjurstrøm quoted in Eirik Husøy, “Likestillingsombudet vil todele foreldrepermisjonen,” Aftenposten , September 29, 2017.
- 3.
Ibid.
- 4.
Gro Nylander, “Del permisjonen til barnets beste!,” Aftenposten , August 8, 2016.
- 5.
Gro Nylander quoted in Heidi Borud and Sofie Gran Aspunvik, “Kvinner bør ha minst åtte måneders permisjon,” Aftenposten , February 6, 2013.
- 6.
Ibid.
- 7.
Peter Moss and Sheila B. Kamerman, “Introduction,” in The Politics of Parental Leave Policies: Children, Parenting, Gender, and the Labour Market, eds. Sheila Kamerman and Peter Moss (Bristol: The Policy Press, 2009), 3–4.
- 8.
Berit Brandth and Elin Kvande, “Norway: The Making of the Father’s Quota,” in The Politics of Parental Leave Policies: Children, Parenting, Gender, and the Labour Market, eds. Sheila Kamerman and Peter Moss (Bristol: The Policy Press, 2009), 203–205. In spite of assertions that paternity leave increases gender equality and ultimately bolsters women’s rights and position in society, critics fear that paternity leave pits the wellbeing of men against the wellbeing of women. Studies have shown that the paternity quota enhances fathers’ lives and children’s lives by strengthening fathers’ relationships with their children. The paternity quota has not necessarily led to a more equal division of labor in the home between men and women and fathers indicate their primary use of the quota is not to increase gender equality. See Berit Brandth and Elin Kvande, “Masculinity and Child Care: The Reconstruction of Fathering,” The Sociological Review 46, no. 2 (1998): 293–314.
- 9.
Two of the most influential members of the Women’s Federation of the Norwegian Labor Party in the early twentieth century came from prominent Norwegian families. Fernanda Nissen, for example, came from a family of diplomats, she was married to a newspaper editor, and the sister-in-law of cultural elite, Erik Werenskiold. Ella Anker, sister of Katti Anker Møller and sister-in-law with Johan Castberg, also came from a prominent family and was a well-published journalist.
- 10.
For a discussion of the ambivalence and dualism that characterizes Norwegian family policies today, see: Anette Borchorst, “Woman-friendly Policy Paradoxes? Childcare Policies and Gender Equality Visions in Scandinavia,” in Gender Equality and Welfare Politics in Scandinavia: The Limits of Political Ambition? eds. Kari Melby, Anna-Birte Ravn, and Christina Carlsson Wetterburg (Bristol: The Policy Press, 2009); Berit Brandth, Brita Bungum, and Elin Kvande, “Innledning: Valfrihet I omsorgspolitikken,” in Valgfrihetens tid. Omsorgspolitikk for ban møter det fleksible arbeidslivet, eds. Berit Brandth, Brita Bungum, and Elin Kvande (Oslo : Gyldendal Akademisk, 2005).
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Peterson, A.M. (2018). Conclusion. In: Maternity Policy and the Making of the Norwegian Welfare State, 1880-1940. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75481-9_7
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