Paternal Leave and Part-Time-Work. Challenges and Future Perspectives

Based on my previous research results on caring fathers on parental leave and challenges met by their partners (Mauerer 2013, 2015) I will, in this presentation, focus on interviews with managers in private and public enterprises on long-term paternal part-time work after paternity leave.

Whereas women’s part-time work is widely spread in Europe, paternal part-time work is hardly discussed as a gender mainstreaming tool at the working place. European data show a huge gender employment gap at the expense of women caused by parenthood.

In my qualitative research on “Parental part-time work and gender work-life-balance in selected companies” I analyse the situation of fathers in Austria working part-time, combined with an international data analysis of parents working part-time. I conduct guided interviews with (personal) managers in the private and public sector on the career development of part-time-working employees, focussing on the situation of fathers. Although there are few data on this specific issue, I analyse the fathers’ situation in comparison to maternal part-time work, which is common in European member states (Eurostat 2014). The interview questions focus on specific tasks of employees in different branches working part-time, working-time conditions and contracts, career development during and after part-time work, and last but not least: working-time demands in leading positions.

I analyse these qualitative data co-reflecting quantitative (inter)national data on gender employment rates and research on gender at the working place (a.o. Eydal/ Rostgaard 2014; Fagan/ Norman 2013; Wetterer 2014).

Methods: Guided interviews with managers of private and public companies, personal managers and fathers working part-time; quantitative data analysis on parental leave in Europe.

Finally, I present qualitative research data on fathers on parental leave and part-time work focussing on gender at the workplace and family arrangements based on the theoretical framework of feminist theories, gender and family studies (O'Brien/ Wall 2015).