Shared Parental Leave/division of labour Flashcards
Give an example that shows the gendered division of unpaid labour
OECD 2017
on average women do twice the amount of unpaid labour compared to men
Bureau of labour statistics
Suggest that women do more caregiving tasks such as cooking and cleaning that have to be done regularly and are essential - aka The Second Shift
But men do much rarer, less essential tasks such as mowing the lawn and maintenance work
Give an example that shows the gendered division of childcare
Craig and Jenkins 2016
found that Mothers in Australia spend 2.5x more time on childcare than fathers
OECD 2017
found Findland is the only country where fathers spend more time with school-age children, but women still spent the majority of time on childcare with pre-school children (arguably the more intensive time for childcare)
What is Shared Parental Leave?
A scheme introduced in 2015 in the UK that allows up to 50 weeks (apart from the initial 2 weeks) of maternity leave to be transferred to the other parent
Aimed to provide more of an incentive for mothers to be able to go back to work faster and for the other parent to be more involved in childcare
What are the benefits of shared parental leave?
IFAU 2010 found that for every month of [aternity leave taken by a father in Sweden, the mothers wages increased by 7%
Case studies provided by the UK government suggest that Fathers who used shared parental leave felt much more capable and were more likely to solo parent in the future. The mother also said that it made her transition back to work easier as she knew her child was with a parent and not straight into the nursery.
What are the limitations of shared parental leave?
Clifton-Sprigg et al 2024
found that only 2-4% of eligible men used shared parental leave
TUC 2015
found that 40% of men are not eligible as they are self-employed or the mother is unemployed
Why is the take up low for SPL?
Clifton-sprigg et al 2024
The weekly money for shared parental leave is less than the average weekly wage. SPL gives £184.03 or 90% of your average weekly earning depending on what is lower, compared to the average weekly wage of £567 a week
so many say it is not worth it or isn’t possible as they can’t financially support the family, especially as statutory maternity leave pays 90% of earnings for the first 6 weeks
Complexity of the system
Both parents have to meet the criteria such as continuos employment and earning thresholds
requires both parents to have their workplaces coordinate and arrange the scheme - which can be difficult especially as it is not very common so many places aren’t familiar with the process
Idea that its taking away from the mothers time and gender norms
BBC News 2024 - Bristol dad said he was very uncomfortable taking his SPL as it was stigmatized and that the childcare/parent groups were very female-dominated
physical aspects of motherhood, such as breastfeeding - require a lot of energy and need to be done often
What are some ways to improve the take-up of SPL?
Clifton-sprigg et al 2024
Increase the financial support to make it worth while
Aviva 2022 found 80% of men taking parental leave for at least 5 months - this is due to the 12 months offered to any new parent with 6 months at full pay
Due to the complexity of the scheme
legal support should be provided to both parents and employers to allow them to understand the process better
Introducing a use it or lose it quota for fathers to combat the idea that it is taking away from mothers
Shand 2018 - The use of these quotas in both Sweden and Iceland has led to approximately 90% takeup from fathers
Iceland provided 6 months reserved to each parent, with an additional 3 months that can be taken by either
Encourage workplaces and baby groups to receive education around the policy and promote it - reduce the stigma around taking it
Make more approachable situations for fathers
Reward companies such as Aviva that provide leave for men and incentivise companies to encourage shared parental leave
