“We're not much use, but good for logistics”: an exploratory study of parenting leaves in Ireland

Abstract

This paper examines family leaves in Ireland, particularly for fathers, in the context of changing parenting roles and the increased involvement of fathers in the care of their child(ren). Drawing upon the results of a survey that captured the views of 637 parents and focus group discussions with parents, it highlights parental experiences of parental, paternity and maternity leave. Policy changes are explored to assess the preferences of fathers and mothers in terms of payment, duration and transferability of leaves between parents. In tandem with women's increased access to employment, the study examines evidence of men's desire for greater equality in family roles. The question posed is whether a policy response is needed in relation to fathers' rights to family leave and, if so, on what terms?

Keywords:

• fathers
• maternity leave
• mothers
• paternity leave
• parental leave
• social policy

Notes on contributors

Professor Eileen Drew is the Director of the Centre for Women in Science and Engineering Research (WiSER) at Trinity College Dublin. Her research interests include family leave policies, gender equality and work/life balance.

Eileen has been involved in research, training and consultancy for numerous international gender-related projects for agencies such as the Council of Europe, European Commission, EU Fundamental Rights Agency and the European Institute for Gender Equality. Dr Drew has served as the Irish representative on the International Leave and Related Research Network since 2005. She is currently PI for the EU project INTEGER which seeks to improve the career progression of women scientific researchers.

Anna Watters after graduating from Trinity College Dublin in 2010, Anna Watters entered employment with HSBC as a Commercial Officer in the Commercial Banking Division, based in Belfast UK. She went on to become an Analyst, CMB Analytics, with HSBC Bank, London. Since October 2013, she has been engaged as Principal Analyst in HBSC.

Notes

1. While contraception and divorce have since been legalised, abortion remains illegal in Ireland unless it occurs as the result of a medical intervention performed to save the life of the mother.

2. The Marriage Bar required that women leave paid employment on getting married. It applied mainly to women's white-collar occupations, in both the public and private sectors. In Ireland, where labour surpluses have been larger and more long-standing than in most countries, it persisted until the marriage bar was abolished in the public sector in 1973, and discrimination in employment on grounds of sex was made generally illegal in 1977.

3. The 1996 EU Directive allowed Member States to decide on the duration of parental leave and whether it was remunerated.

4. All statistical tests referred to in this paper are based on Pearson chi-square test.