Family Policies in Norway

Abstract

This overview focuses on current family policies in Norway, but a brief historical background is given where this is relevant. It covers aspects of family law (adoption, abortion, parental rights) as well as family policy (parental leave, child-care, out-of-school care, taxation, family benefits, benefits for lone parents). Norwegian policies since the mid-1980s have clearly moved in the direction of the ‘dual earner-dual carer’ model, but this development is not uncontested. We argue that the basic tension in present-day Norwegian family policies is between the wish to promote desirable family practices (including increased involvement from men) on the one hand, and the wish to maintain neutrality and increase parental choice on the other. The father’s quota in parental leave and the cash-for-care benefit can be seen as prime examples of each approach. Controversies in this area tend to follow the political left-right axis, with the left favouring gender equality and service provision, and the right preferring cash transfers and the promotion of parental choice.