Abstract
This chapter explores the diversity of leave policy models in contemporary European society. Seven empirically based ideal types are identified by looking at data for the 22 countries on leave systems, early childhood services and maternal and couples’ employment patterns. We address the complex interplay between leave systems and work-family, gender and welfare regimes. The analysis reveals three sets of conclusions, which relate to convergence and divergence in care leave policies across Europe, leave generosity and its linkages to gender equity and family well-being.
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Notes
- 1.
Including the compulsory paid weeks of post-natal leave for mothers and the paid weeks which may be taken after that.
- 2.
The concept of ‘work/family articulation’ refers to the processes and practices whereby individuals and families develop specific strategies to manage paid and unpaid work. The latter may include cutting back on working hours, taking leave, adapting parents’ work schedules or delegating care for young children to professional or informal carers. ‘Reconciliation’ and ‘balancing’ are terms currently used to analyse this process. But they can imply that some form of conciliation or equilibrium between the two spheres is always achieved, and this represents an analytical drawback. We therefore prefer the more neutral concept of ‘articulation’ between work and family life.
- 3.
Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Slovenia, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Poland, Estonia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Netherlands, UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece.
- 4.
See http://www.leavenetwork.org/for the Annual Reviews and http://ec.europa.eu/eurostatfor data on female employment in 2010.
- 5.
In 2010, women working part time represented 40% in Sweden, up from 36% in 2000; 39% in Denmark, up from 34% in 2000; 35% in Iceland; and 15% in Slovenia.
- 6.
See the article by Elin Kvande in the 2007 Review (Moss and Wall 2007) describing how the issue of long parental leave was hotly debated in Norway during the 1990s. The father’s quota is also a much debated issue at present with the conservative party strongly in favour of doing away with it (Brandth and Kvande in Moss 2011).
- 7.
Belgium does not have a ‘home care allowance’ but entitlement to parental leave together with the ‘time credit system’ allows parents to take low-paid leave for another 18 months after the end of 4-month well-paid maternity leave.
- 8.
Norway and Finland clearly have a more generous initial leave system, similar to the ‘one-year-leave model’, with a well-paid leave which can go up to 11 or 12 months. France and Belgium only have an initial well-paid maternity leave of 4 months.
- 9.
Denmark provides childcare services for children over 6 months.
- 10.
Even though in Finland children under one year old are ‘entitled to a day care place’, in practice, there are very few day care places for children of this age. As Salmi (2006) points out, parental leave ends when the baby is about 9–10 months old and the majority of mothers (80%) take home care allowance after this period and therefore rarely apply for a day care place. The average home care period lasts until the child is 1.5 years. This has led to a drop in places for this very young age group; in the 1970s, there even used to be separate sections for young babies in day care centres, but this no longer happens. As a result, if parents decide not to take the whole parental leave period, they usually consider other options, such as a private nanny at home.
- 11.
Estonia’s leave policies thus seem to be shifting and reveal some hesitation in relation to a mother-centred model.
- 12.
Previously (since 1999), father’s involvement in leave was promoted through 2 weeks of well-paid parental leave if taken up by the father.
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Wall, K., Escobedo, A. (2013). Parental Leave Policies, Gender Equity and Family Well-Being in Europe: A Comparative Perspective. In: Moreno Minguez, A. (eds) Family Well-Being. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 49. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4354-0_6
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