Fathers on Leave Alone in Finland: Negotiations and Lived Experiences

Abstract

Parental leave legislation in Finland aims at promoting gender equality. Fathers of young children have statutory rights to gender specific leave periods (paternity leave, father’s month) as well as gender neutral leave (parental leave, care leave). While a majority of fathers are able to take some weeks of paternity leave when their child is born, the actualization of fathers’ leave rights that give a possibility to stay at home alone with the child and take full care responsibility, is less simple and needs to be negotiated both at home between spouses and at the workplace. Interviews with fathers who have taken a longer leave show that negotiations with the spouse about leave are related to the position of both parents at the labour market, but also to ideas about the child’s best interest. Negotiations at work are testing the gendered limits of family friendliness; especially for highly educated middle class fathers who are beginning to expect employers to allow them to be caring parents.