Fathers on Leave Alone in Sweden: Toward More Equal Parenthood?

Abstract

During the past 50 years the meaning of fatherhood and expectations for Swedish fathers has changed dramatically. Norms about masculinity, previously closely related to paid work and breadwinning, have partly been replaced by new ideals in which fathers are caring and active parents. This development has been partially policy-driven; since the 1960s, fatherhood in policy discourse and practice has successively shifted towards a focus on gender equality and a dual earner-carer model. Sweden was the first country in the world that granted fathers the right to paid parental leave in 1974. Since then policy reforms and campaigns have promoted fathers’ up-take of parental leave. Today, there is a strong social norm that fathers should take parental leave and the share of days taken by fathers increases each year. However, relatively few fathers take an equal portion of the leave and relatively little research addresses whether long leaves promote a more egalitarian division of labor. This chapter presents results from interviews with 14 fathers who had taken a substantial amount of leave, who report on leave decision-making, experiences and outcomes, and explores the extent to which results suggest that long leaves are likely to promote an egalitarian model of parenthood.