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Fathers’ Leave Take-Up in Finland: Motivations and Barriers in a Complex Nordic Leave Scheme

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  • Petteri Eerola
  • Johanna Lammi-Taskula
  • Margaret O’Brien
  • Johanna Hietamäki
  • Eija Räikkönen

Abstract

Despite being the first country in the world to introduce paternity leave in 1978, Finland’s current national leave scheme is complex with regard to incentivizing fathers’ take-up. Taking the unique Finnish leave scheme as a case example, this article examines fathers’ motivations and barriers to leave. Although research on fathers’ take-up of leave in divergent leave policy contexts has increased dramatically, fathers’ motivations and barriers to leave have remained underresearched. The article reports on a survey sample of 852 Finnish fathers of infants who were taking paternity, parental, and other forms of leave, drawn from the Population Register Center. Results show that less than 20% of fathers report taking no leave, with more than 80% taking some form of leave. A multinomial logistic regression analysis indicates that father’s work, partner’s education, and family income, along with father’s wish to take a break from work and wish to facilitate mother’s return to work or studies, are the key characteristics and motivations associated with fathers’ take-up of leave. The most common barriers to fathers’ take-up of leave were related to the family’s economic situation and the father’s job. It is suggested that decreasing maternalism in the leave scheme, by extending investment in fathers’ individual well-paid leave weeks, will also help promote greater gender equality for working parents in Finland following the path of Nordic neighbors.

Suggested Citation

  • Petteri Eerola & Johanna Lammi-Taskula & Margaret O’Brien & Johanna Hietamäki & Eija Räikkönen, 2019. "Fathers’ Leave Take-Up in Finland: Motivations and Barriers in a Complex Nordic Leave Scheme," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(4), pages 21582440198, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:9:y:2019:i:4:p:2158244019885389
    DOI: 10.1177/2158244019885389
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. María del Carmen Huerta & Willem Adema & Jennifer Baxter & Wen-Jui Han & Mette Lausten & RaeHyuck Lee & Jane Waldfogel, 2013. "Fathers' Leave, Fathers' Involvement and Child Development: Are They Related? Evidence from Four OECD Countries," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 140, OECD Publishing.
    2. Jeffrey D. Sachs & Richard Layard & John F. Helliwell, 2018. "World Happiness Report 2018," Working Papers id:12761, eSocialSciences.
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    Cited by:

    1. Smyth, Emer & Russell, Helen, 2021. "Fathers and children from infancy to middle childhood," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS130.
    2. Katri Otonkorpi‐Lehtoranta & Milla Salin & Mia Hakovirta & Anniina Kaittila, 2022. "Gendering boundary work: Experiences of work–family practices among Finnish working parents during COVID‐19 lockdown," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 1952-1968, November.
    3. Dobrotic, Ivana & Arnalds, Ásdís Aðalbjörg & Dimitrova, Elitsa & Son, Keonhi & Engeman, Cassandra & Valentova, Marie & Mercan, Murat A. & Ilieva, Kalina & Makay, Zsuzsanna & Reimer, Thordis, 2023. "Parenting leave policy data gaps: a comparative critical analysis," SocArXiv 8g25k, Center for Open Science.

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