Fernández-Cornejo, J.A., Del-Pozo, E., Escot, L., & Castellanos-Serrano, C. (2018) Can an egalitarian reform in the parental leave system reduce the motherhood labor penalty? Some evidence from Spain. Revista Española de Sociología RES 27 doi:10.22325/fes/res.2018.3.

Abstract:

The article analyzes how an egalitarian reform in the parental leave system may reduce the motherhood penalty. We used a sample of heterosexual dual‑earner couples, with children between 3‑8 years old, residing in Madrid and its metropolitan area. We show, first, that the introduction of a 13‑day paternity leave increased significantly the average number of days that employed fathers were off work after the birth or adoption of a child. Second, we found some empirical evidence that fathers who took longer leaves tended to be subsequently more involved in the care of their children. And third, we obtained some evidence in favour of the hypotheses that when the father is actively involved in the care of his child the mother tends to experience less work penalty. We also considered the effect of other variables such as having egalitarian gender attitudes, working in a family‑friendly company, earnings and the working week.

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