The parental leave systems of Sweden, France, United Kingdom and their effects.

• Main Authors: Meng-Jung Wu, 吳孟蓉
• Other Authors: Su-Mei Chen
• Format: Others
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/2hrm62

碩士 === 國立東華大學 === 社會學系 === 102 === In this research, we study Esping-Andersen distinguished liberalism, conservatism and social democratism as mainstream ideologies, according to their classification framework, this paper compare parental leave systems of Sweden, France, the United Kingdom and their effects. Low fertility, work-family conflicts make us worried. How to coordinate the work of family care and the workplace becomes the focal point of encouraging fertility policy in many countries. The purpose of parental leave policies, give priority to improvement difficulties that career women meet between work and family when they continue working after having children , and secondly, combination with the concept of integration of gender equality to encourage men sharing the responsibility of raising their children and to achieve fatherhood. The aim about parental leave is to slow down the working and family financial impact when parents care for their children, but also to eliminate gender misconception. The study found that parental leave can effectively improve work-family conflict; however minimal positive effects on fertility rate, there still needs to have children’s care supporting measures to improve fertility rate. The evolution of ideology of each country has its unique values because of its society and culture, the identification and policy direction of parental leave changes with the ideology. Government policy under liberal views will not interfere too much family affairs, only give parents a short leave time; Parental leave policy under the conservative point of view, influenced by the traditional division of labor, mainly concerning with women, makes efforts to balance women’s imbalance between work and care of children; and the social-democratism according gender equality, preserve exclusive rights of parents, actively encourage fathers to use parental leave, endeavors to carry out parental leave between the parents. Three countries in the development of the idea of parental leave policies gradually moving towards the same, the difference lies in time of payment, allowances and attitude about father. Parental leave system of each country is neither good nor bad, but to fit the policy of each country is different, it varies with culture and ideology of each country.