Reconciliation of Employment and Childcare in Austria, Germany and Iceland. Examples for Gender Equality in Family Life?

Abstract

The paper starts with theoretical assumptions and empirical findings on gender equality effects of reconciliation policies. Thereafter, childcare provision and parental leave schemes in Austria, Germany and Iceland are compared. While Germany and Austria may be classified as optional familialistic with a choice between paid parental leave and childcare services, Iceland follows a strong adult worker model with familizing and de-familizing policies in quick succession. Leave take-up rates of fathers and employment rates of mothers differ enormously between the three countries. This is due to differences in policy design with regard to father’s quotas, benefit levels and the length of the leave as well as to the availability of high quality childcare services. The advantages and shortfalls of the three different models of reconciliation will be analysed from a gender equality perspective.