1 Eva-Maria Schmidt, University of ViennaUnderstanding the gender gap in parental leave and part-time: socio-economic factors and cultural norms Eva-Maria Schmidt, University of Vienna Conference „Promoting uptake of paternity and parental leave among fathers for an equal share of child care“ 2017, Vienna 17/05/2017

2 What is the problem? Gender revolution with two halves (Goldscheider et al 2015) Across Europe: still gendered and unequal division of breadwinning and care giving after the transition to parenthood (Berghammer 2014, Kuehhirt 2012) Eva-Maria Schmidt

3 What is gendered with parenthood?Time-use: women spend time on childcare, fathers spend time in paid work (Kühhirt 2012, Buber-Ennser 2015, Dechant & Blossfeld 2015); mothers engage in routine and basic care, fathers engage in leisure activities (Kapella et al. 2011, Doucet 2006) Normative expectations: fathers as approachable providers (Chin et al. 2011), mothers as employed primary caregivers (Pedersen 2012) Conflicts: more work-family conflicts for mothers (Bianchi & Milkie 2010) Career and wages: ‘motherhood wage penalty’ even for short leaves (Jacobi et al. 2017) and ‘fatherhood wage premium’ (Pollmann-Schult 2011) Eva-Maria Schmidt

4 Austria‘s parental leave systemFor all parents in Austria: Childcare allowance (in months) For employed parents in Austria: Right for job-protected parental leave only one parent both parents monthly rate (in €) max. sum (in €) up to 24 months 12 +2=14 1,000 14,000 15 +3=18 800 14,400 20 +4=24 624 14,976 30 +6=36 436 15,696 12 (income-related) 1,000-2,000 28,000 Eva-Maria Schmidt

5 Childcare allowance in Austria and Vienna, 2016Source: BMFJ, 2016; own computations Eva-Maria Schmidt

6 What is gendered with parenthood?Time-use: women spend time on childcare, fathers spend time in paid work (Kühhirt 2012, Buber-Ennser 2015, Dechant & Blossfeld 2015); mothers engage in routine and basic care, fathers engage in leisure activities (Kapella et al. 2011, Doucet 2006) Normative expectations: fathers as approachable providers (Chin et al. 2011), mothers as employed primary caregivers (Pedersen 2012) Conflicts: more work-family conflicts for mothers (Bianchi & Milkie 2010) Career and wages: ‘motherhood wage penalty’ even for short leaves (Jacobi et al. 2017) and ‘fatherhood wage premium’ (Pollmann-Schult 2011) Eva-Maria Schmidt

7 Labor participation of Austrian mothers and fatherstotal <1y y y y y y total <1y y y y y y age of youngest child age of youngest child Mothers with children under 15 years Fathers with children under 15 years Not employed/unemployed Parental leave Part-time Full-time Source: Statistics Austria, Microcensus 2013 Eva-Maria Schmidt

8 What is gendered with parenthood?Time-use: women spend time on childcare, fathers spend time in paid work (Kühhirt 2012, Buber-Ennser 2015, Dechant & Blossfeld 2015); mothers engage in routine and basic care, fathers engage in leisure activities (Kapella et al. 2011, Doucet 2006) Normative expectations: fathers as approachable providers (Chin et al. 2011), mothers as employed primary caregivers (Pedersen 2012) Conflicts: more work-family conflicts for mothers (Bianchi & Milkie 2010) Career and wages: ‘motherhood wage penalty’ even for short leaves (Jacobi et al. 2017) and ‘fatherhood wage premium’ (Pollmann-Schult 2011) Eva-Maria Schmidt

9 What affects this gender gap?Mother’s and father’s employment Workplace and organizational culture Sector and class Parents’ earnings Paid parental leave Parental leave policies Parents’ levels of education Childcare facilities Cultural norms Gendered attitudes Eva-Maria Schmidt

10 What affects this gender gap?Mother’s full-time employment and earnings associated with more equal arrangements but also with increased external childcare (Kitterød & Pettersen 2006, Norman et al. 2014, Raley et al. 2012, Reich 2011, Schober 2013) Workplace and organizational culture: hegemonic ideas of masculinity (Arrighi & Maume 2000) and masculine working time cultures (Williams 2010) versus family-friendliness (Gasser 2015; Haas & Hwang 2007, 2009) Sector and class: fathers in public sector rather on leave (Bygren & Duvander 2006, Geisler & Kreyenfeld 2011, Lammi-Taskula 2008), middle-class men tend to “talk the talk but not walk the walk”, working-class men tend to “walk the walk but not talk the talk“ (Williams 2010) Eva-Maria Schmidt

11 What affects this gender gap?Parents’ earnings: Economic rationales are asymmetric and trumped by gender (Grunow et al. 2012), cannot explain equal share of childcare (Grunow et al., 2007; Schulz & Blossfeld, 2006) Paid parental leave increases shared parental leave and all fathers’ leave uptake, but equal share and effects of income cannot be fully explained (Dechant & Blossfeld 2015, Geisler & Kreyenfeld 2011, 2012, Pull & Vogt 2010, Reich 2011, Trappe 2013) Parental leave policies increase gender equality, if they provide a short leave (~12 months), ~6 months explicitly for the father, well-paid, protect against dismissal, combined with childcare facilities (Ciccia & Verloo 2012, Ray et al. 2010, Dearing 2016a+b; O'Brien 2013, Brandth & Kvande 2009, 2012, 2016; Doucet 2013a; Gornick & Meyers 2008 Eva-Maria Schmidt

12 What affects this gender gap?Parents’ levels of education higher educated women: earlier labour market returns, increasing day-care take-up and reversed gender roles (Grunow et al. 2011, Klesment & Van Bavel 2017, Stahl & Schober 2017) higher educated men: shared parental leave, shorter working hours (Bünning & Pollmann-Schult 2015, Dechant & Blossfeld 2015, Geisler & Kreyenfeld 2011, 2012, Holzinger et al. 2014) Childcare facilities improve women's employment opportunities, raise maternal employment, improve reconciliation of work and family (Dieckhoff et al. 2015; Plantenga & Remery 2009, Wernhart & Neuwirth 2007a), but: care gaps are filled by mothers (Farstad 2015, Da Roit et al. 2015) and external childcare is part-time (Baierl & Kaindl 2017, Dörfler et al. 2014) Eva-Maria Schmidt

13 What affects this gender gap?Cultural norms What is best for the child: not to be separated from the mother (Schmidt & Rieder 2016, Steiber & Haas 2010, Wernhart & Neuwirth 2007b) Fathers’ breadwinning responsibility, mothers’ caregiving responsibility (Doucet 2004, Helfferich 2012, Schmidt et al. 2015, Schmidt 2017) Gendered attitudes Conflicting: both should care and provide money (Loscocco & Spitze 2007, Milkie et al. 2002), but: mothers’ stronger family orientation, fathers’ stronger orientation towards economic rewards (Duvander 2014, Poortman & van der Lippe 2009, Ralph 2016) Relational: strong and explicit gender-egalitarian attitudes of both parents might entail equal share, also in the long run (Duvander 2014; Kaufman & Bernhardt 2015; Nitsche & Grunow 2016, Schmidt 2017) Eva-Maria Schmidt

14 What is the solution? Changing structures and policies as one piece of the puzzle (Schadler et al. 2017)  overcoming gender pay gap  shared parental leave as gentle-force Changing cultural norms  providing information how to share equally  creating gender-free spaces Changing concepts of equality: Can parenting be equal? Equal to whom? Equal in what? (Doucet 2013, 2017) Eva-Maria Schmidt

15 References (selection)Berghammer, C.(2014) The return of the male breadwinner model? Educational effects on parents' work arrangements in Austria, Work Employment and Society, 28(4), Dearing H (2016) Gender equality in the division of work: How to assess European leave policies regarding their compliance with an ideal leave model. Journal of European Social Policy 26: Doucet A (2013) Can Parenting Be Equal? Rethinking Equality and Gender Differences in Parenting. In: McClain LC and Cere D (eds) What is parenthood? Contemporary Debates about the Family. New York: New York University Press, Dribe M and Stanfors M (2009) Does parenthood strengthen a traditional household division of labor? Evidence from Sweden. Journal of Marriage and Family 71(1):33-45. Geisler E and Michaela K (2011) Against all odds: Fathers’ use of parental leave in Germany. Journal of European Social Policy 21(1):88–99. Goldscheider F, Bernhardt E and Lappegard T (2015) The Gender Revolution: A Framework for Understanding Changing Family and Demographic Behavior. Population and Development Review 41(2): 207–239. Kuehhirt M (2012) Childbirth and the long-term division of labour within couples: How do substitution, bargaining power, and norms affect parents' time allocation in west Germany? European Sociological Review 25(5): Schadler, C., Rieder, I., Schmidt, E.-M., Zartler, U., & Richter, R. (2017). Key practices of equality within long parental leaves. Journal of European Social Policy, 23(7). Schiffbänker, H., & Holzinger, F. (2014). Väterkarenz und Karriere (Vol. POLICIES Working Paper 75). Wien: Joanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft mbH. Schmidt, E.-M. (2017). Breadwinning as care? The meaning of paid work in mothers’ and fathers’ constructions of parenting. Community, Work & Family. Schmidt, E.-M., Rieder, I., Zartler, U., Schadler, C., & Richter, R. (2015). Parental Constructions of Masculinity at the Transition to Parenthood: The Division of Parental Leave among Austrian Couples. International Review of Sociology, 25(3), Schober PS (2013) The parenthood effect on gender inequality: Explaining the change in paid and domestic work when British couples become parents. European Sociological Review 29(1):74-85.

16 Eva-Maria Schmidt, University of ViennaUnderstanding the gender gap in parental leave and part-time: socio-economic factors and cultural norms Eva-Maria Schmidt, University of Vienna Conference „Promoting uptake of paternity and parental leave among fathers for an equal share of child care“ 2017, Vienna 17/05/2017