Equal Parenthood and Social Policy

A Study of Parental Leave in Sweden

By Linda Haas

Subjects: American Labor History
Series: SUNY series, Issues in Child Care
Paperback : 9780791409589, 300 pages, July 1992
Hardcover : 9780791409572, 300 pages, July 1992

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Table of contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. Introduction

2. History and Development of Parental Leave in Sweden

3. Participation of Swedish Fathers in Parental Leave

4. Determinants of Fathers' Participation in Parental Leave

5. Daddies and Mommies at Home: Parents' Experiences with Parental Leave

6. Consequences of Fathers Taking Parental Leave for Gender Equality in the Family

7. Implications for the United States

8. Conclusion: Equal Parenthood and Social Policy

Appendix A: Methodology of the Study

Appendix B: Questionnaire and Interview Protocols

References

Index

Description

Sweden is the only society in the world that has as an official goal the equal participation of fathers and mothers in childcare. Equal Parenthood and Social Policy analyzes the government program which best symbolizes this commitment to equal parenthood—parental leave. With return to one's original job being assured, a Swedish couple has twelve months to divide between them so that one parent can stay home to care for their new offspring. While a few other countries, mostly in Scandinavia, have paid parental leave available to fathers, Sweden's program is the oldest and most generous, as well as the one most closely committed to realizing complete equality between men and women in every sphere of social life.

In analyzing this unique social program, Haas describes the social, political, and economic circumstances which led Sweden to take such a revolutionary stance on the issue of shared parenthood. Haas also discusses the extent to which Swedish fathers take advantage of their right to parental leave, barriers to fathers' participation, and fathers' experiences while on leave, along with the effects that leavetaking has on mothers' and fathers' later labor market involvement and participation in childcare.

This study of the Swedish program raises important questions about future prospects for equal parenthood in Sweden and other industrial societies, and, more significantly, about the potential effectiveness of social policy for bringing about the end of such a cultural universal as women's responsibility for infants.

Linda Haas is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Indiana University, Indianapolis.