Rights of fathers to leave in Denmark and Sweden – Why so different gender equality logics?

Rights of Fathers to Leave in Denmark and Sweden – Why So Different Gender Equality Logics?

While both representing the Scandinavian welfare model emphasizing gender equality, Denmark and Sweden have followed different historical paths in the development of leave policies for families with smaller children. Whereas the Danish policies are not based on explicit expectations that fathers should take leave, Sweden has promoted gender equality and active fatherhood since the mid 1990s. Sweden has thus been much more active in transforming the gender contract. Interesting contrasts between these two national approaches are visible also in regards to the division of public/private responsibilities of care for smaller children. Denmark’s lack of intervention in how parents share leave periods has been accompanied by an early and very extensive investment in public day care, also for the smaller children under the age of 3, while in Sweden the expectation is that parents are responsible for the care of the youngest children, exemplified in the long leave which extends well beyond the child’s first year.

This paper seeks to understand the dynamics and processes of the development of the national leave legislation and leave polices in the two countries. We take in the paper a special focus on the actors who have driven the development, with an emphasis on the role of political parties, the labour movement and the workplaces, where the latter have at times been at the forefront of introducing gender equality incentives in leave rights. We apply the theoretical framework of historical institutionalism, and we discuss, whether the development has followed a dependant track and to which extent and why there has been path breaking developments. Out analysis is based on national parliamentary debates and policy documents of the two countries.