La Caixa Michael Christi
Proyecto
01/12/2025
In recent decades, the substantial increase in women\'s labour market participation has intensified the discussion of reconciliation policies to support women in balancing work with family responsibilities. Policymakers have shown growing interest in paternity leave policies, which are designed to encourage fathers\' involvement in early childcare and promote a more equal division of labour within the household. In this context, Spain’s pioneering reform of parental leave policies represents a significant milestone in the European Union’s broader efforts to promote gender equality, offering a unique opportunity to evaluate the impact of equal leave entitlements on labour market outcomes. Beginning in 2017 and culminating in 2021, the reform gradually increased paternity leave from 2 to 16 weeks, achieving parity with maternity leave. Guided by the principle of equal and non-transferable leave rights for both parents, the policy aimed to distribute caregiving responsibilities more equitably by introducing mandatory weeks of leave after childbirth, and eliminating transferable rights between partners, challenging entrenched gender norms.\r\nThis study investigates the impact of this reform on female employability, focusing on employment rates, labor force participation, and employment quality (e.g., full-time employment and wage levels). While the reform sought to reduce employers’ bias against hiring women due to perceived maternity-related costs, it also intended to empower men as caregivers and diminish the disproportionate caregiving burden traditionally borne by women. This dual objective presents a unique opportunity to assess the interplay between family policies and labor market outcomes. The reform aligns with findings in the literature indicating that non-transferable parental leave quotas for fathers increase paternal involvement in childcare (Farré and González, 2019; Patnaik, 2019). Previous research for Spain (Farré and González, 2019) shows that the introduction of paternity leave in 2007 led to a higher employment rate for women after 6 months from childbirth, while no effect was found for men. Gorjón and Lizarraga (2024) assessed the effectiveness of Spain\'s 2021 reform, which increased paternity leave by 4 weeks and led to equal duration for women and men, and highlight a positive effect on the number of hours worked (intensive margin) for women, while men experienced a slight reduction in the number of days worked. In contrast, Farré et al. (2024) using survey data, find that the reforms of 2020 and 2021 did not affect parents\' labour market outcomes. Research for other countries has provided mixed results. While some studies (e.g., Ekberg et al. (2013) for Sweden; Dahl et al. (2014); Hart et al. (2022) for Norway) found no statistically significant effect on parents’ labour market outcomes, others (e.g., Rege and Solli, 2013; Cools and Strøm, 2016; Andersen, 2018; Dunatchik and Özcan, 2021; Patnaik, 2019) show a reduction in gender employment (or income) gap, due to a decrease in fathers’ earnings or an increase in mothers’ labour market participation. Furthermore, studies on the long-term effects of parental leave reforms highlight their potential to shift societal norms around gender roles, leading to more equitable sharing of domestic responsibilities (Kleven, Landais, & Søgaard, 2019). However, to the best of our knowledge, little is known about the indirect effect of these reforms on employer discrimination against women of childbearing age. By analyzing this relationship, we aim to provide new insights into this aspect of labor market dynamics. Understanding these indirect effects is important, as they may contribute to reducing the gender employment gap as well as the gender wage gap by altering employer behavior in ways that benefit women.
FUNDACIÓN BANCARIA ”LA CAIXA” OBRA SOCIAL "LA CAIXA"
99600 €