Parental Leave and Gender Equality: Lessons from the European Union |
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| Authors: | LINDA HAAS |
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| Affiliation: | Linda Haas is Professor of Sociology and Adjunct Professor of Women's Studies at Indiana University, Indianapolis. She regularly teaches courses on gender, family policy, and families and work. Her research interests focus on the linkages between gender, family, and work in postindustrialized societies. Her publications include Equal Parenthood and Social Policy (SUNY Press 1992) and Organizational Change and Gender Equity (with P. Hwang and G. Russell, Sage 2000). |
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| Abstract: | abstract This article describes the development of European Union parental leave policy and its impact on mothers'and fathers'access to parental leave in the individual nations that make up the union. Cross-national variations in parental leave policy are described and analyzed. Although the 15 countries belonging to the EU in 2002 are concerned about helping working parents reconcile employment and family responsibilities, so far, only one—Sweden—has begun to develop a parental leave policy likely to facilitate men's and women's sharing of responsibility for breadwinning and child care. |
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