Uzunalioglu, Merve;
(2023)
First-time fathers’ parental leave take-up in Luxembourg: a policy evaluation.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
This thesis is set in contemporary Luxembourg and examines first-time fathers’ parental leave trajectories during three phases: access to leave, leave take-up and negotiating the leave. Using social security records from 2009 to 2018, the thesis explores the impact of the 2016 reform, focusing on the interplays among workplaces, intra-household negotiations, and first-time fathers’ take-up of parental leave. The first study focuses on the change in eligibility criteria as part of the reform and tests whether eligibility translates into take-up when the right is newly granted. Analyses show an increase among marginal part-time working mothers' leave take-up but no significance for first-time eligible fathers’ take-up. Eligibility remains a barrier for parents from non-European backgrounds. The second study looks at the impact of the reform on fathers’ leave take-up and analyses the role of intra- and extra-household factors. Findings show an average 20 per cent increase in first-time fathers’ leave take-up. The change is driven by increased compensation. The impact is greatest for fathers working at small-size companies, fathers in the median to low-income quintiles, and in households where mothers have more financial resources than fathers. The third study scrutinises the timing and duration of the leave. Results indicate that fathers tend to postpone their leave when they have greater socio-economic resources than mothers. However, mothers’ workplaces appear significant, and greater maternal socioeconomic resources push fathers into earlier leave-taking and to take leave of a similar duration to mothers. The thesis showed that parental leave take-up is a multi-dimensional behaviour that develops under multiple interactions across multiple spheres. Gender structures and ideologies are embedded in these interactions. There is a bidirectional relationship between fathers’ parental leave preferences and gendered workplace cultures. Macro-level policy change motivates progress towards gender equality; however, paternal engagement through parental leave-taking remains dependent on workplace support.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | First-time fathers’ parental leave take-up in Luxembourg: a policy evaluation |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2022. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| Keywords: | parental leave, fathers, Luxembourg, policy evaluation, quantitative analysis, causal inference, workplaces |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Social Research Institute |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10165133 |
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