Description
Book SynopsisNordic countries lead the way in facilitating better work-family integration through their design of parental leave policies that encourage men towards life courses with greater care responsibilities. Based on original research, this compelling book offers a novel analysis of the everyday parental practices of fathers and parents in Norway as a way of understanding the workings of labour market and welfare policies, whilst considering how migrant fathers might relate to the expectations such laws generate. The authors showcase how this style of men’s care work constitutes a re-gendering of men by promoting ‘caring masculinities’.
Table of ContentsIntroduction Part 1: The importance of leave design Fathers’ sense of entitlement to ear-marked and shared parental leave Decomposing policy design: outsider-within perspectives Flexible use of the father’s quota: Problems and possibilities Part 2: Caregiving – fathers in transition Masculinity and child care Home alone on leave or with the mother present Fathers experiencing solo leave: Change and Continuities Immigrant fathers framing parental leave and caregiving Part 3: Reconciling work and care Changing fathers and work–life boundary setting Negotiating parental leave and working life Workplace support of fathers’ parental leave use Managers: Irreplaceable in caregiving and replaceable at work Conclusions: Change in policies, fathers’ caregiving and the ideal-worker norm
