This article presents novel empirical evidence of fathers’ parental leave usage by introducing a family dimension in Spain. To test this hypothesis, a bivariate probit estimation was used to analyse the effect of the mother’s labour force participation on the father’s decision to take parental leave. This procedure allowed us to address the issue of simultaneous factors affecting the decisions of both the man and the woman, which were relevant to interpreting for the phenomenon. The results suggested that successfully using fathers’ paternity leave as a tool to promote gender equality depends on the family household’s characteristics and the woman’s connection to the job market. The bivariate probit estimation revealed that the effect of the woman’s decision on the man’s choice is much stronger than a naive regression would suggest.
AbrilPRomeroA (2008) Public and private companies with gender and conciliation policies for men. In: GaboritP (ed.) Genres, temps sociaux et parentés. Paris: Harmattan, 217–239.
ConnellRW (2014) Change among the gatekeepers: men, masculinities, and gender equality in the global arena. Signs30(3): 1801–1825.
4.
DuvanderALappegårdTAndersenS, et al. (2019) Parental leave policies and continued childbearing in Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Demographic Research40: 1501–1528.
5.
EscobedoAMeilG (2016) Paternité et congés parentaux en France et en Espagne. In MartialA. (Ed.), Pères en solitaire? Ruptures conjugales et paternité contemporaine. Aix-en-Provence: Presses de l’Université de Provence, Collection Penser le genre, 175–187.
6.
EscobedoAWallK (2015) Leave policies in Southern Europe: continuities and changes. Community, Work & Family18(2): 218–235.
7.
EscobedoAFlaquerLNavarroL (2012) The social politics of fatherhood in Spain and France: A comparative analysis of parental leave and shared residence. Ethnologie Française42(1): 117–126.
8.
EscotJFernández-CornejoJAPozaC (2014) Fathers’ use of childbirth leave in Spain. The effects of the 13-day paternity leave. Population Research and Policy Review33(3): 419–453.
9.
EscotJFernández-CornejoJALafuenteC, et al. (2012) Willingness of Spanish men to take maternity leave. Do firms’ strategies for conciliation impinge on this?Sex Roles67(1): 29–42.
10.
Fernández-CornejoJAEscotLCastellanosC, et al. (2016) Do fathers who took childbirth leave become more involved in their children’s care? The case of Spain. Journal of Comparative Family Studies47(2): 169–191.
11.
FlaquerLEscobedoA (2014) Licencias parentales y política social de la paternidad en España. Cuadernos de relaciones laborales32(1): 69–99.
12.
FlaquerLNavarro-VarasLAntón-AlonsoF, et al. (2019) La implicación paterna en el cuidado de los hijos en España antes y durante la recesión económica. Revista Española de Sociología28(2): 249–268.
13.
GraciaP (2014) Fathers’ child care involvement and children’s age in Spain: a time use study on differences by education and mothers’ employment. European Sociological Review30(2): 137–150.
14.
GraciaPEsping-AndersenG (2015) Fathers’ child care time and mothers’ paid work: a cross-national study of Denmark, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Family Science6(1): 1–12.
15.
GreeneW H (1998) Gender Economics Course in Liberal Arts College: Further ResultsThe Journal of Economic Education29(4): 291–300.
16.
HagqvistENordenmarkMPérezG, et al. (2017) Parental leave policies and time use for mothers and fathers: a case study of Spain and Sweden. Society, Health & Vulnerability8: 1374103.
17.
HoherzSBryanM (2020) Provider or father? British men’s work hours and work hour preferences after the birth of a child. Work, Employment and Society34(2): 193–210.
18.
HoskingAWhitehouseGBaxterJA (2010) Duration of leave and resident Fathers’ involvement in Infant care in Australia. Journal of Marriage and Family72(5): 1301–1316.
19.
KimmelM (2017) The Gendered Society, 6th Edition.New York: Oxford University Press.
20.
LambME (2010) How do fathers influence children’s development? Let me count the ways. In: LambME (ed.) The Role of the Father in Child Development, 5th Edition.Mahwah, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 1–26.
21.
LundbergSPollakRA (1996) “Bargaining and distribution in marriage.” Journal of Economic Perspectives10(4): 139–158.
22.
LapuertaIBaizánPGonzálezMJ (2011) Individual and institutional constrains: an analysis of parental leave use and duration in Spain. Population Research and Policy Review30(2): 185–210.
23.
ManserMBrownM (1980) “Marriage and household decision-making a bargaining analysis.” International Economic Review21(1): 31–44.
24.
MeilG (2013) European Men’s Use of Parental Leave and their Involvement in Child Care and Housework. Journal of Comparative Family Studies44(5): 557–570
25.
MeilGRogero-GarcíaJ (2015) Does paternal childcare replace grandparental support in the work – Family balance?Family Science6(1): 31–37.
26.
MeilGRomero-BalsasPRogero-GarcíaJ (2017) Why parents take unpaid parental leave. Evidence from Spain. In: CesnuiytèVLückDWidmerED (eds) Family Continuity and Change. Contemporary European Perspectives (Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Family and Intimate Life). London: Palgrave Macmillan, 107–124.
27.
MeilGRomero-BalsasPRogero-GarcíaJ (2018) Parental leave in Spain: use, motivations and implications. Revista Española de Sociología27(3 Suppl): 27–43.
28.
MeilGRogero- GarcíaJRomero- BalsasP, et al. (2019) El camino hacia permisos de maternidad y paternidad iguales e intransferibles en España, Revista del Ministerio de Empleo y Seguridad Social: Revista del Ministerio de Trabajo, Migraciones y Seguridad Social141: 15–36.
29.
Moreno-MínguezA (2010) Family and gender roles in Spain from a comparative perspective. European Societies12(1): 85–111.
30.
Moreno-MínguezACrespiI (2017) Gender equality and family changes in the work–family culture in Southern Europe. International Review of Sociology27(3): 394–420.
31.
Moreno-MínguezAOrtega-GasparMGamero-BurónC (2018) A socio-structural perspective on family model preferences, gender roles and work–family attitudes in Spain. Social Sciences8(1): 1–23.
32.
MossP (2018) Parental leave and beyond: some reflections on 30 years of international networking. Revista Española de Sociología27(3): 15–25.
33.
NepomnyaschyLWaldfogelJ (2007) Paternity leave and fathers’ involvement with their young children: evidence from the American ECLS-B. Community, Work & Family10(4): 427–453.
34.
PérezCMartín-RománÁMoralA (2015) The impact of leisure complementarity on the labour force participation of older males in Spain. Applied Economics Letters22(3): 214–217.
35.
PérezCMartín-RománÁMoralA (2020) Two decades of the complementary leisure effect in Spain. The Journal of the Economics of Ageing15: 100216.
36.
RaleySBianchiSWangW (2012) When do fathers care? Mothers’ economic contribution and fathers’ involvement in child care. American Journal of Sociology117(5): 1422–1459.
37.
RoetersAVan der LippeTKluwerES (2009) Parental work demands and the frequency of child-related routine and interactive activities. Journal of Marriage and Family71: 1193–1204.
38.
Romero-BalsasP (2012) Fathers taking paternity leave in Spain: which characteristics foster and which hamper the use of paternity leave?Sociologia e Politiche Sociali15(Special Issue): 105–130.
39.
Romero-BalsasPMuntanyola-SauraDRogero-GarcíaJ (2013) Decision-making factors within paternity and parental leaves: why Spanish fathers take time off from work. Gender, Work & Organization20(6): 678–691.
40.
SchoberPZochG (2019) Change in the gender division of domestic work after mothers or fathers took leave: exploring alternative explanations. European Societies21: 158–180.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
