Parental leave in Sweden : Motives, perceptions and gender equality among parents

• This paper investigated Swedish parents’ motives for, experiences of and gender equality in relation to paid parental leave. The purpose was to explore similarities and differences in attitudes and experiences between parents in the two regions in Sweden with the largest difference in paid parental leave use among fathers. Data were drawn from interviews completed in 2008 with 16 heterosexual couples with a child born 2005 or 2006. The semi-structured interviews were analyzed according to grounded theory. In terms of experiences of the leave, a positive similarity in the study was that the couples described that they got to know the child better. Some negative similarities were that they felt they were alone and restricted. Primarily, the fathers in the northern part, focused on the lack of male networks. A traditional division of labor was a stronger pattern among couples in the southern region compared with the couples in the northern region. Tendencies are indicated towards an increased child-orientation, which could be connected with a change in hegemonic masculinity. In conclusion, the differences discovered between the four communities may to a great extent be depending on a cultural lag. This implied that change in values tend to take place first in social environments with multiple heterogeneous actors.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi -- Socialt arbete (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology -- Social Work (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Family research

Familjeforskning

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)