Why do we need an individualized
parental leave?
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
Swedish parental privileges
Parental allowance:
Parental leave:
• Allowance is given for 480 days/child
• Right to full time leave from
(16 months).
work during your child´s first 1,5
years, with or without allowance. • 390 days is at your sickness benefit
level (80% of your salary).
• Right to full time leave from
work during your child´s first 8
• 90 days is at guarantee level,
years, with allowance.
(180 SEK per day).
• Right to work part time (75 %),
during your child´s first 8 years.
• Parents gets 50% each, and can
redistribute days between each
other, except for 60 days that are
reserved for each parent.
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
Why do we have parental allowance?
• In 1974 the Swedish parental leave was
introduced as the most radical in the world
– men could take more parental leave and
women could work more.
• A two provider model replaced an earlier family
provider model as a part of a bigger political
welfare project.
• Men and women have equal responsibility to
provide for the family. Rights and responsibilities
are gender neutral and individually based.
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
Not as equal as it was supposed to be...
• The parental insurance is individually based.
• But the rules allows parents to redistribute
the insurance between each other.
• The result of the new model became a very
unequal distribution.
• Women are expected to work more, but were
still expected to do the unpaid work at home.
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
Not as equal as it was supposed to be...
• Initially women took almost all parental leave.
• Men´s parental leave first increase in 1995,
when 30 days were reserved for each parent.
30 more days were reserved in 2002.
• In 2012 women took 76 % of all parental
leave.
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
Not as equal as it was supposed to be...
• Many couples choose an unequal distribution
of parental leave.
• Their choices are influenced by unequal
working conditions and old standards unequal salaries, employer´s attitudes,
society´s expectations, etc.
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
The parental leave system –
a barrier instead of support for women
• The parental leave is not the support for
women´s work it was once intended to be.
• Today women are gone from work longer
periods, they work both paid and unpaid,
affecting their health.
• Today it is harder for women to get full time
work. Women are considered “risk labor”.
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
Individualizing means:
Parental days can no longer be transferred. Parents are treated
like individuals, supporting a two provider model.
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
Individualizing – for all families
• Individualized parental leave sets a new
standard, for modern family politics in a
society with many different types of families.
• It is important to see the needs of all types of
family and parental constellations when
developing a parental leave system.
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
Individualized parental leave
– for women, men, children
and for society.
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
A reform for women
• Strengthens women in the labor market women won´t have to be considered "risklabor".
• Women get greater chance to work full-time,
better salaries and career development.
• Shared responsibility for home and children
reduces women's unpaid work. It is important
for women's health!
• In the long term, it is crucial to increase
women's pensions.
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
Cumulative wages per year, for persons 20
years and older (after 2010).
Median incomes/1000 SEK
Men
Women
Age
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
Share in full time work, before and after parental leave (2005 & 2008)
Woman, laborer
Man, laborer
Woman, officer
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
Man, officer
A reform for men
• Equal parental leave strengthens men´s role as
fathers, their presence and influence in the
family.
• Fathers get a stronger position in negotiation,
both at work and at home.
• Fathers who are prioritizing parental leave, get
more support against “disloyal competition”
from other men who only prioritize work.
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
A reform for children
• Children has the right to both parents –
individualization promotes close contact between
child and both parents early in life.
• The risk of separation is lower for couples who
share parental leave.
• It also promotes continued close contact between
child and both parents after a separation.
• The risk of child poverty decreases, when single
mothers has a stronger contact with the labor
market.
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
A reform for society
• A more equal labor force better uses women´s
education and competence,
• The society costs of morbidity and poverty
decreases.
• Both men and women can get more control
over their own lives, and can participate in
building and shaping society.
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
Statement of Guvernement
Policy 2014:
”As a next step towards
a gender equal parental
leave a third month will
be reserved for each
parent.”
Statement of Guvernement
Policy 2014:
“The parental insurance will
also be adjusted to better
suit HBTQ families/all
family constellations”.
“Are there no other ways to
promote equal parental leave?“
Other way that have been tried are
information or economical incitement
(for example the equality bonus)
It has had no effect. The only reform that has
worked is reserved months for each parent.
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
“Shouldn´t we let the process take
it´s time, instead of forcing it?”
It is almost 40 years since the parental leave
system was introduced. Individualization
was discussed already then.
The longer we wait, the bigger the risks of
unequal life patterns being consolidated
and amplified.
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
“Shouldn´t families have their
freedom of choice?”
Equal life chances for men and women is also
important. Today´s freedom of choice is an
illusion.
Unequal life chances, women´s low wages, and
men´s better career opportunities, all affect how
we choose between work and parental leave.
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
“Should the government really control
families through parental leave?”
The parental leave system already controls
families – towards traditional gender roles
and gender ineuality.
All family politic is controlling. The question
is how we control it, and what it promotes!
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
“Shouldn´t we consider families'
economical losses?”
We must also consider the enormous loss of
life income that affects all women, because
of women's primary responsibility for the
unpaid work.
Lifetime income for a man today is
3.6 million higher than for a woman.
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
”Many mothers what to stay at home!”
Mothers can stay at home as long as they like.
The issue is how much of the parental leave
should be financed with parental allowance.
Also, both women and men must be willing to
change life patterns and privileges.
Sweden still has one of the most generous
parental leave systems in the world!
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
“But the nursing is necessary!”
The advice to mothers is, if possible, to nurse for
6 months and then add complementary food.
Sharing parental leave completely equal (8
months allowance each) works well for most
parents.
Many mothers can also continue nursing part
time (ex mornings, evenings and nights) long
after they started working again.
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
“Individualization affects the children if
fathers don´t stay at home.”
Yes, it is a problem that all fathers doesn´t
use their paternity leave.
Change requires that we give men stronger
rights as parents and also demand more.
We must assume that fathers want to, and
can take responsibility, to reach an equal
society.
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
“What if the father is unsuitable?”
For a mother to have the right to all
parental leave, she has to have sole custody.
If a parent is unsuitable, sole custody must
be ensured legally. Ex because of neglect or
violence against parent or child.
The issue is complex. If one parent is
unsuitable, but still has custody, he/she
can´t be forced to transfer his parental days.
Social Democratic Women in Sweden
Support for shared responsibility
Diagram 6.7 The man is mainly responsible for providing for the family
Don´t agree at all, 1
Agrees totally, 5
What does the chart show us?
A majority of both men and women does not agree, that the man should be
the main family provider. Men has slightly more traditional attitudes, 80% of
the men and 90% of the women, does not agree at all. A little less than 10%
of all men an 5% of the women agrees fully or partially.
Eva Bernhardt, Arbete och familj under 2000-talet. Stockholms universitet
Support for shared parental leave
Diagram 6.5 Parents should share parental leave equal (percent)
Don´t agree at all, 1
Agrees totally, 5
What does the chart show us?
Men are slightly more positive than women to the statement that parents should
share parental leave equal (60% of the men and 55% of the women). About 20% of
the respondents don´t agree (2) or don´t agree at all (1)
Eva Bernhardt, Arbete och familj under 2000-talet. Stockholms universitet
länge
anser duleave
att detdo
är lämpligt
att män
föräldralediga?
HowHur
long
parental
you think
menärshould
have?
37
40
28
30
20
14
13
6
10
1
0
6mth- Spel
Don´t
InteNone
alls 0-20-2mth
mån 3-53-5mth
mån 6 mån
ar VetDon’t
inte
matter
meroränmore
8 ingen
roll know
mån
LO, Novus Opinion, Joa Bergold 2012
Social Democratic Women in Sweden