Comparing Inclusive and Exclusive Trends in the Impacts of Parental Leave Policies in Lithuania and the Czech Republic

This paper aims to analyse the development paths of parental leave policies and their outcomes in two Central and Eastern European countries, Lithuania and the Czech Republic, through a gender and intersectional lens. Although both countries joined the EU two decades ago and share a common historical communist past, the design of parental leave policies and their outcomes differ significantly. Drawing on extensive research on the development of parental leave policies in both countries, secondary data on the use of parental leave and parents´ practices, as well as contextual analysis, this paper discusses the impact of long-term and recent trends in parental leave policies on gender and intersectional inequalities. Empirically, the analysis focuses on the following dimensions of inequality: 1) the de/gendering impact of parental leave policies and the involvement of fathers in care, 2) the impact of leave policies on deepening/reducing socio-economic inequalities of single-parent and low-income families, and 3) the impact of leave policies on the inclusion/exclusion of same-sex families.

The results of the analysis show that the impact of parental leave policies on gender equality in care has stalled in the Czech Republic, while in Lithuania, despite explicit pro-equality policies, only limited progress has been made. The impact of parental leave policies on socio-economic inequalities suggests that policy changes towards greater flexibility of parental leave have been used to better accommodate parents with higher incomes. Moreover, the policies have been selectively pronatalist and exclusionary towards lower-income families (namely single parents and ethnic minority parents). In addition, policies in both countries have remained exclusionary towards same-sex parents, who have remained completely excluded from at least some of the parental leave benefits because one of the carers is not recognised as a legal parent.