A Comparative Analysis of Parental Leave Policies in Slovenia and Sweden
Slovenian Parental
Leave -
A Nordic Perspective
Linda Haas
Indiana University
9
th
Annual Meeting of The International Network on Leave
Policies and Related Research, Ljubljana
Objectives
Present five lessons that can be learned from
comparing Slovenian parental leave to Sweden’s
Pose questions about Slovenian parental leave in
relation to Sweden’s
Lesson #1- Policies similar
in many praiseworthy respects
Policymaking began early (in 1927 in Slovenia,
1931 in Sweden) with paid maternity leave,
establishing a structural and ideological foundation
for women’s labor force particular and the dual-
earner family
Kept maternity short – Long leaves hurt women’s
long-term labor market opportunities and can be
hard to divide up later for fathers’ use
First in world to allow fathers to share paid leave in
1974 – breaks down gendered assumptions about
parenting and work
Lesson 2: Policies developed in
similar commendable manner
Same concerns drove policymaking (fertility,
economic well-being), encouraging long-term and
well-planned policymaking
Wide variety of stakeholders involved in
policymaking (including academics, unions)
Took care of the “caregiving gap” – early childhood
programs widely available and affordable at age 1
after leaves are over
Have pursued children’s and women’s well-being,
without seeing these as in conflict
Lesson 3: Slovenian policy less
‘equality promoting’ than Sweden
Slovenian policies tend to be “equality-enabling” (with a
focus on choice) while Swedish policies tend to be
“equality-promoting” (with a focus on gender equality)
Equality-promoting policies compensate fathers well for
taking parental leave
Slovenia’s equality-enabling policies associated with a
gender discourse focusing on women’s equal labor
participation vs. gender equality
Slovenians have more traditional gender attitudes
and share childcare less than Swedish couples
Lesson 4: Sweden’s equal-
promoting policies associated with
enhanced fertility
Leave policy enhances fertility in Sweden, but not in
Slovenia
Fathers’ use of parental leave associated with
larger family sizes in Sweden
Slovenia women may postpone children because of
perceived greater domestic workload, in families
with traditional gender attitudes
Lesson 5: Dominance of work over
family greater in Slovenia
Slovenian economy characterized more by precarious
work and work intensification than Sweden’s
Slovenians more likely than Swedes to say work is the
most important thing in life, that earning money is very
important
Long hours culture better established in Slovenia than
Sweden
Dominance of work over family constrains Slovenian
men’s participation in parental leave and childcare
Why did Slovenia look to Sweden as a model
for parental leave policy?
How exactly did Sweden have an influence?
Which path will Slovenia follow in the future?
Slovenia is similar to West European states in having high
women’s labor force participation, affordable childcare and
fathers’ rights to leave, but s
imilar to Central East European
states in having more conservative attitudes toward gender roles
Is
there an independent course that Slovenia can follow?
Questions
This study compares the parental leave policies of Slovenia and Sweden, highlighting key similarities and differences. Lessons from the comparison include the early establishment of paid maternity leave in both countries, the involvement of various stakeholders in policymaking, and the differing approaches towards equality promotion. While Slovenian policies focus on choice and gender discourse, Swedish policies emphasize gender equality and enhanced fertility.
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Presentation Transcript
Slovenian Parental Leave - A Nordic Perspective Linda Haas Indiana University 9th Annual Meeting of The International Network on Leave Policies and Related Research, Ljubljana
Objectives Present five lessons that can be learned from comparing Slovenian parental leave to Sweden s Pose questions about Slovenian parental leave in relation to Sweden s
Lesson #1- Policies similar in many praiseworthy respects Policymaking began early (in 1927 in Slovenia, 1931 in Sweden) with paid maternity leave, establishing a structural and ideological foundation for women s labor force particular and the dual- earner family Kept maternity short Long leaves hurt women s long-term labor market opportunities and can be hard to divide up later for fathers use First in world to allow fathers to share paid leave in 1974 breaks down gendered assumptions about parenting and work
Lesson 2: Policies developed in similar commendable manner Same concerns drove policymaking (fertility, economic well-being), encouraging long-term and well-planned policymaking Wide variety of stakeholders involved in policymaking (including academics, unions) Took care of the caregiving gap early childhood programs widely available and affordable at age 1 after leaves are over Have pursued children s and women s well-being, without seeing these as in conflict
Lesson 3: Slovenian policy less equality promoting than Sweden Slovenian policies tend to be equality-enabling (with a focus on choice) while Swedish policies tend to be equality-promoting (with a focus on gender equality) Equality-promoting policies compensate fathers well for taking parental leave Slovenia s equality-enabling policies associated with a gender discourse focusing on women s equal labor participation vs. gender equality Slovenians have more traditional gender attitudes and share childcare less than Swedish couples
Lesson 4: Swedens equal- promoting policies associated with enhanced fertility Leave policy enhances fertility in Sweden, but not in Slovenia Fathers use of parental leave associated with larger family sizes in Sweden Slovenia women may postpone children because of perceived greater domestic workload, in families with traditional gender attitudes
Lesson 5: Dominance of work over family greater in Slovenia Slovenian economy characterized more by precarious work and work intensification than Sweden s Slovenians more likely than Swedes to say work is the most important thing in life, that earning money is very important Long hours culture better established in Slovenia than Sweden Dominance of work over family constrains Slovenian men s participation in parental leave and childcare
Questions Why did Slovenia look to Sweden as a model for parental leave policy? How exactly did Sweden have an influence? Which path will Slovenia follow in the future? Slovenia is similar to West European states in having high women s labor force participation, affordable childcare and fathers rights to leave, but similar to Central East European states in having more conservative attitudes toward gender roles Is there an independent course that Slovenia can follow?
