23.10.2007
Fathers see their breadwinning responsibility as an obstacle to parental leave
"Many fathers report that the family's financial situation prevents them from taking parental leave, but the choices are based on assumptions rather than calculations. This is often influenced by gender-based attitudes and the notion of parents' separate gendered responsibilities, such as fathers' breadwinning responsibility and mothers' childcare responsibility ", says Johanna Lammi-Taskula, a Senior Researcher at STAKES.
Johanna Lammi-Taskula's academic dissertation on the use of parental leave in Finland will have its public examination in the Faculty of Social Sciences at Tampere University on Friday, 2 November 2007. The research findings are based on survey data with 3232 mothers and 1413 fathers of young children, collected in 2001–2002 as part of the Parental Leave Study by STAKES.
The sharing of parental leave between mothers and fathers is associated with the socio-economic position of each parent. When both the mother and the father have a high educational level, they are more likely to share parental leave. Fathers employed in female-dominated public sector organisations take parental leave somewhat more often than other men. In a demanding and stressful working life, many fathers of young children desire a break from work. While this is an important source of motivation for parental leave, it is often not communicated between parents.
The sharing of parental leave between mothers and fathers also affects the parent's position in the workplace and the division of labour in unpaid housework. In families where the mother takes the whole leave period, parents develop separate spheres of experience and housework tasks are more differentiated than in families where at least part of parental leave is taken by the father.
The choices of individual mothers and fathers are embedded in policy options as well as material conditions and ideological conceptions. These are all open to change, but development towards more symmetric gender relations in parenthood requires activity on many levels. Individual leave rights for fathers are needed in family policy; the actualisation of father’s childcare responsibility requires support by their employers and colleagues in work organisations; reflection on and questioning of gender relations is also necessary in the everyday life of families.
Leave rights for fathers were first introduced in the 1970s, and during the past decade, fathercare has been in a focus of leave policy development. However, parental leave has been taken mainly by mothers. In 2005, fathers accounted for some 5 per cent of parental leave days, and 10 per cent of fathers used their right to parental leave.
Source: Johanna Lammi-Taskula. Parental Leave for Fathers? Gendered Conceptions and Practices in Families with Young Children in Finland. STAKES. Research Report 166. Helsinki 2007. Copies for the media and the author's photo available from STAKES Communications (viestinta(at)stakes.fi). Other orders for books from the STAKES online bookshop: http://www.stakes.fi/FI/Julkaisut/Kirjakauppa/KKTutkimuksiaSarja/t166.htm
Additional information: Johanna Lammi-Taskula, Senior Researcher, tel. +358 9 3967 2066 or +358 40 539 8939, e-mail johanna.lammi-taskula(at)stakes.fi