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Social Inclusion or Gender Equality? Political Discourses on Parental Leave in Finland and Sweden

Author

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  • Mikael Nygård

    (Department of Social Policy, Åbo Akademi University, Finland)

  • Ann-Zofie Duvander

    (Department of Sociology, Stockholm University, Sweden / Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Mid University, Sweden)

Abstract

During the 2010s, both Finland and Sweden made advancements in their parental leave systems by widening the right to paid parental leave to a greater diversity of family constellations and investing in gender-equal leave distribution through longer leave periods reserved for the father. However, in the latter respect, Sweden has remained more successful than Finland. This article analyses government and political party discourses in Finland and Sweden during the 2010s in pursuit of an explanation to this difference and for understanding how ideas on social inclusion and gender equality have been used to drive, or block, policy reforms in the field of parental leave. The results show that the parental leave discourses have become influenced by ideas on social inclusion and gender equality in both countries, but in somewhat different ways. While gender equality has retained a stronger position in the Swedish discourse and its policy, social inclusion, and notably the rights of same-sex parents, have become more visible in the Finnish. However, the results also show that both ideas have remained contested on a party level, especially by confessional and nationalist-populist parties.

Suggested Citation

  • Mikael Nygård & Ann-Zofie Duvander, 2021. "Social Inclusion or Gender Equality? Political Discourses on Parental Leave in Finland and Sweden," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(2), pages 300-312.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v9:y:2021:i:2:p:300-312
    DOI: 10.17645/si.v9i2.3844
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Siv Gustafsson & Frank Stafford, 1992. "Child Care Subsidies and Labor Supply in Sweden," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 27(1), pages 204-230.
    2. Anita Nyberg, 2000. "From Foster Mothers to Child Care Centers: A History of Working Mothers and Child Care in Sweden," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 5-20.
    3. Diana Auth & Hanne Martinek, 2017. "Social Investment or Gender Equality? Aims, Instruments, and Outcomes of Parental Leave Regulations in Germany and Sweden," Springer Books, in: Diana Auth & Jutta Hergenhan & Barbara Holland-Cunz (ed.), Gender and Family in European Economic Policy, chapter 0, pages 153-176, Springer.
    4. Häusermann, Silja & Picot, Georg & Geering, Dominik, 2013. "Review Article: Rethinking Party Politics and the Welfare State – Recent Advances in the Literature," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 43(1), pages 221-240, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Sonja Blum & Ivana Dobrotić, 2021. "The Inclusiveness of Social Rights: The Case of Leave Policies," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(2), pages 222-226.

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