Fathers’ Parental Leave-Taking, Childcare Involvement and Mothers’ Labor Market
Participation
Introduction
There is extensive evidence that women have lower rates of employment than men and
lower wages if employed (OECD 2017). These differences are much larger for mothers than for
childless women and it has been argued that it is the birth of children and specifically the birth of
the first child which is one of the main triggers for the divergence of labor market outcomes of
men and women (e.g. Waldfogel 1998a, 1998b, Bertrand et al. 2010, Angelov et al. 2016). At the
same time it is well known that within families it is mainly mothers who leave the labor market
for the first couple of months after childbirth and who take care of the child. Even several years
after childbirth mothers continue to dedicate more time to childcare and housework than fathers
(Bianchi 2000, Bianchi et al. 2000). Several studies document that time out of the labor market
for childcare has long lasting effects on employment, earnings and wages of women (Shapiro
and Mott 1994, Lundberg and Rose 2000). In order to achieve a more equal division of childcare,
housework and employment between mothers and fathers, several countries introduced father
quotas for parental leave, e.g. Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Germany and France. These quotas or
daddy months are intended to incentivize fathers to take leave and to engage more in childcare
and housework. The literature discusses several mechanisms of how fathers’ leave-taking might
affect the involvement in childcare and the sharing of household duties afterwards. Based on
Becker (1991), parents acquire caring skills while on leave. These result in comparative
advantages in caring for the child later on and respective relative disadvantages in labor market
skills due to reduced labor market experience resulting from leave.
Participation
Introduction
There is extensive evidence that women have lower rates of employment than men and
lower wages if employed (OECD 2017). These differences are much larger for mothers than for
childless women and it has been argued that it is the birth of children and specifically the birth of
the first child which is one of the main triggers for the divergence of labor market outcomes of
men and women (e.g. Waldfogel 1998a, 1998b, Bertrand et al. 2010, Angelov et al. 2016). At the
same time it is well known that within families it is mainly mothers who leave the labor market
for the first couple of months after childbirth and who take care of the child. Even several years
after childbirth mothers continue to dedicate more time to childcare and housework than fathers
(Bianchi 2000, Bianchi et al. 2000). Several studies document that time out of the labor market
for childcare has long lasting effects on employment, earnings and wages of women (Shapiro
and Mott 1994, Lundberg and Rose 2000). In order to achieve a more equal division of childcare,
housework and employment between mothers and fathers, several countries introduced father
quotas for parental leave, e.g. Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Germany and France. These quotas or
daddy months are intended to incentivize fathers to take leave and to engage more in childcare
and housework. The literature discusses several mechanisms of how fathers’ leave-taking might
affect the involvement in childcare and the sharing of household duties afterwards. Based on
Becker (1991), parents acquire caring skills while on leave. These result in comparative
advantages in caring for the child later on and respective relative disadvantages in labor market
skills due to reduced labor market experience resulting from leave.
