Future Directions for Family Research
Historically, conservative forces promoted familistic male-breadwinner models through long, transferable parental leave, which allowed women extended time off for caregiving, often hindering their re-entry into the labour market. These policies have been progressively reformed into shorter, better-paid leave periods designed to encourage quicker returns to work and improve mothers' employment trajectories. However, feminist scholars have criticised the emphasis on employment over caregiving, calling to shift back from a universal breadwinner to a universal carer model. Meanwhile, there has been growing attention to the gender distribution of caregiving responsibilities and to the role of men. Trends such as reserving portions of leave exclusively for fathers, exemplified by the European Union’s work-life balance directive, reflect this shift. Yet, debates persist over whether fully equalizing leave rights for men and women accounts for their different conditions and needs. .
Thus, parental leave design serves as a battleground for classic and evolving debates: the tension between the right to work and the right to care, and the quest for gender equality preserving an acknowledgement of sexual difference. . This article addresses the complexity of these dimensions at both theoretical and empirical levels. . Using comparative OECD data from 1990 to 2021, it maps national leave policy reforms and observes emerging patterns and trends. The findings reveal that policy legacies and the timing of parental leave reforms have shaped current trajectories toward greater ‘degenderization’, although progress varies significantly across countries.