Doing Fatherhood: Understanding the Gendered

Use of Parental Leave in Finland

Lammi-Taskula, Johanna . Fathering ; Harriman Vol. 6, Iss. 2, (Spring 2008): 133-142,144-148.

ProQuest document link

ABSTRACT

In families with young children, parental practices are usually gendered: mothers do more unpaid care work, while
fathers spend more time in paid employment. Recent efforts in the Nordic countries to promote equal sharing of
childcare responsibility between parents have resulted in increases of fathers' take-up of parental leave. Fathers in
Finland are less likely to take leaves when compared to fathers in Sweden, Norway, and Iceland. Using survey data
collected in 2001 from 1371 fathers who had children born in 1999, the take-up of parental leave by fathers in
heterosexual families in Finland was analysed. The parents' reports suggested that the division of labour in
families was negotiated between socio-economic rationality and prevailing ideologies of motherhood, fatherhood,
and gender equality. Two aspects were significant for the likelihood of fathers' sharing parental leave with
mothers: the mother's position in the labour market and gender ideology related to care and breadwinning
responsibilities. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

FULL TEXT

Headnote
In families with young children, parental practices are usually gendered: mothers do more unpaid care work, while
fathers spend more time in paid employment. Recent efforts in the Nordic countries to promote equal sharing of
childcare responsibility between parents have resulted in increases of fathers' take-up of parental leave. Fathers in
Finland are less likely to take leaves when compared to fathers in Sweden, Norway, and Iceland. Using survey data
collected in 2001 from 1371 fathers who had children born in 1999, the take-up of parental leave by fathers in
heterosexual families in Finland was analysed. The parents' reports suggested that the division of labour in
families was negotiated between socio-economic rationality and prevailing ideologies of motherhood, fatherhood,
and gender equality. Two aspects were significant for the likelihood of fathers' sharing parental leave with
mothers: the mother's position in the labour market and gender ideology related to care and breadwinning
responsibilities.
Keywords: parental leave, fathers, mothers, gender, Finland

The division of labour between women and men-who does what and how often- is "doing gender" in practice. A lot
of active doing is involved in producing gender in everyday life; in organizing one's activities according to what is
understood as appropriate for one's sex category (West &Zimmerman, 2002, pp. 4-5). Women with children are
doing motherhood as they make choices or compromises in various spheres of their life, especially in family life
and in the labour market. Similarly, men with children are doing fatherhood among mutually supportive and
conflicting expectations, rules, obligations, and rights (Alvesson &Due Billing, 1999; Rantalaiho, 1997).

Individual men and women are doing gender in a particular social and cultural context. The circumstances of doing
fatherhood and motherhood are characterized by time and place, which also includes religious, economic, and

PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 1 of 13

political influences (Connell, 1995). Thus, gender relations are not fixed; new ways of interaction can be negotiated
and expectations redefined (Risman, 1998).

This article reports findings from a study that explores the gendered take-up of parental leave between mothers
and fathers of young children in Finland. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO)
Recommendation, the term "parental leave" refers to "the leave granted to fathers and mothers to enable parents in
employment to look after their newborn child for a certain time, whilst giving them some degree of security in
respect of employment, social security and remuneration" (Moss &Deven, 1999, p. 3). While most European Union
member states today provide statutory parental leave, the Nordic countries were forerunners, establishing parental
leave in the 1970s. The primary aim of the Nordic parental support developments has been to promote gender
equality by creating a social environment where women and men have the same access to vocational, familial, and
personal fulfilment (O'Brien, 2004).

Although parental leave is an established institution in the Nordic countries, it has been mainly taken by mothers.
During the past decade, fatherhood has been a focus area in the development of parental leave institutions.
Individual and non-transferable leave rights for fathers have been developed in order to encourage more men to
take parental leave (Haataja, 2004; Hobson, 2002; O'Brien, 2004). The introduction of the father's quota in Norway,
Sweden, and Iceland has resulted in higher numbers of take-up by fathers, and increased the sharing of parental
leave between fathers and mothers outside the quota (Brandth &Kvande, 2003; Gislason, 2004; Nyman &Petterson,
2002).

Despite women's high education levels and labour market participation rates, the possibilities and practices of
sharing parental leave between mothers and fathers have not developed as rapidly in Finland as in the other Nordic
countries. In this paper, different aspects related to the gendered use of parental leave in heterosexual families
with young children are highlighted. First, wage-worker motherhood as the historical and socio-cultural context of
doing fatherhood in Finland is described. Next, fathers' leave possibilities as well as the take-up of leave by fathers
are presented. Finally, the relevance of socio-economic aspects and gender ideology related to fathers' take-up of
leave is explored and discussed.

Wage-Worker Motherhood in Finland

Finland has a long tradition of women's full-time employment. The roots of the high participation rate of women
are in a strong work ethic based on the socio-economic history of the country. During the first and second World
Wars, women worked on farms and in factories, while most men were off fighting the wars. After the war years, the
paid labour of women was needed in the reconstruction of the economy, as two salaries were needed in families
(Anttonen, 1994; Julkunen, 1994). Working mothers were not an exceptional phenomenon in Finland in the 1950s.

The late but rapid industrialisation in the late 1960s was combined with a growth of the service sector. Like their
Nordic sisters, women in Finland were active in the construction of the welfare state that supported the
reconciliation of work and family life. Women were empowered to make choices about their work and family life:
contraceptive pills were approved in 1961, maternity leave was legislated in 1964; the Abortion Act was passed in
1970, and the Daycare Act passed in 1973. In 1975, the employment rate of women was 67% (Haataja, 2005). A
new form of a gender contract defining wage-worker motherhood as ideal emerged (Julkunen, 1994) and a male
breadwinner family model never got firmly established. Fathers obtained their paternity leave right in 1978.

In the 1980s, policy developments further contributed to the "women-friendly welfare state" (Hernes, 1987). The
number of men taking paternity leave increased and the father's right to share parental leave with the mother took

PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 2 of 13

effect in 1982. The first Act on Equality between Women and Men was passed in 1987. In 1990, children under age
three years were guaranteed a municipal child care place and as an alternative a flat-rate home care benefit was
paid to parents.

The favourable economic development of the 1980's turned into a deep economic recession in the mid 1990's. A
new gender contract started to emerge with themes of gender conflict entering the public discussion (Rantalaiho,
1997). The high employment rates of mothers with children under school age went down from 76% in 1989 to 61%
in 1997 (Haataja &Nyberg, 2006). Mothers' paid employment was also more openly questioned as harmful for
children (Anttonen, 2003). Many families with young children moved from a dual breadwinner model towards a
male breadwinner model where the mother is - at least temporarily, and often because of unemployment-away
from the labour market for some years after a child is born (Haataja &Nyberg, 2006). Mothers of young children not
only took most of the parental leave that can be taken until the child is about 10 months old but also took some of
the available childcare leave so that employment breaks are typically 1.5 years per child (Lammi-Taskula, 2004).

As a result, mothers spend much more time in child care work and care-related housework than fathers. According
to a time-use study in 2000, married or cohabiting mothers of young children (0-6 years) spent two and a half hours
daily in childcare and another two and a half hours in housework, while fathers only spent one hour in childcare
and 45 minutes in housework (Niemi &Pääkkönen, 2001). The unequal division of labour is a common cause of
family conflicts (Reuna, 1998). In families with children, about two thirds of mothers report having too much
responsibility for housework (Melkas, 2005). In the labour market, vertical gender segregation is combined with a
horizontal one: Occupations are often female-dominated or male-dominated (Kolehmainen, 1999), and most
leading positions in business and administration are held by men (Pulkkinen, 2005). Women end up more often
than men in precarious and temporary positions in the labour market (Lehto &Sutela, 1999; Nätti &Väisänen, 2000),
and their wages stay systematically under the wage level of men (Pulkkinen 2005).

Because of growing insecurity, employees experience working life as less meaningful today than in the 1990s
(Alasoini, 2006). While temporary periods of childcare leave may provide an alternative to unemployment for
mothers (Lammi-Taskula, 2004), fathers seem to experience insecurity as a barrier to longer breaks from paid
employment. Instead, fathers of young children do more overtime work than mothers or other men (Lehto &Sutela,
1999). At the same time, many fathers of young children wish to take a break from the hectic working life (Lammi-
Taskula, 2003). As fatherhood and father care are emphasized in the public discourse, feelings of guilt related to
neglecting home matters have become more common among men (Lehto &Sutela, 1999).

Fathers' Leave Possibilities and Take-Up

Fathers in Finland can take paternity, parental as well as childcare leave to stay at home with their children.
Paternity leave is 1-3 weeks and is usually taken right after the child is born while the mother is also at home.
During the 1980s, paternity leave grew more and more popular, and became an "everyman's mass movement"
(Lammi Taskula, 1998). Today paternity leave is taken by almost 90% of fathers (Kela, 2006).

A five-month parental leave period starts after maternity leave-when the child is about 4 months old-and it can be
divided between the parents as they like. Childcare leave starts after parental leave and can be taken until the child
is three years old. Only one parent at a time can be on parental or childcare leave. Thus, fathers on parental or
childcare leave take full responsibility for childcare while their spouse returns to work. Until 2002, parental and
childcare leave were taken by only 2 to 3% of fathers.

In an effort to catch up with other Nordic developments in promoting father care a bonus paternity leave system in

PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 3 of 13

Finland was introduced in 2003. If the father takes the last two weeks of the transferable parental leave, he gets
two extra weeks of paternity leave as a bonus. At the introduction of the scheme it was estimated that about one
in five fathers would use this new leave, which proved to be too optimistic (Takala, 2005). The new scheme has
however increased the number of fathers taking parental leave. In 2005, about 10% of fathers took parental leave.

With the new scheme, leave periods taken by fathers have become shorter. The average length of paternity leave is
about 2.5 weeks and the average parental leave lasts about 5.5 weeks (Kela, 2006). Thus, fathers in Finland take
only about 6% of all benefit days, compared to 20% in Sweden and 32% in Iceland (Kela; NOSOSCO, 2006). This
may be partly due to a lower compensation level in Finland where about 70% of previous income is paid during
parental leave. Parents in Sweden, Norway, and Iceland receive benefits that compensate between 80% to 100% of
lost income.

Method

Sample

The sample is drawn from parents surveyed in the Parental Leave Study by the National Research and
Development Centre for Welfare and Health in Finland 2001-2002 (Salmi &Lammi-Taskula, 2002). The aim of the
study was to analyse the conditions and consequences of the take-up of parental leave for the position of women
and men in working life, to clarify aspects related to the decision making in families about parental leave, and to
find out how parents of young children think childcare ought to be organised.

A survey among parents of young children was conducted. The respondents were selected from the registers of
the National Insurance Institute (NII). Two samples were constructed: a random sample of 5500 mothers who had
received maternity and parental benefit, and a partly targeted sample of 2960 fathers of children born in 1999. As
the take-up of parental leave by the father was rare in the mothers' data, only the fathers' data is used in this paper.

As not many fathers take parental leave (2% in 2001) and the number of fathers who had received parental benefit
(during parental leave) was quite low, these fathers were all included in the sample. In addition, one in 20 of those
who had received paternity benefit (during paternity leave) were randomly selected from a larger group. Those who
have not taken any leave are not included in the fathers' data as they are not included in the NII register.

A targeted selection of fathers was needed in order to reach enough male respondents and to analyse parental
leave from the father's perspective. A random sample of families with young children would have reached mainly
fathers who took paternity but not parental leave. Also, if the questionnaire had been sent only to a sample of
families, the majority of respondents representing the family would have been mothers (Takala, 2000).

The response rate among fathers was 48% (N = 1413). Compared to national statistics, the fathers in the sample
are somewhat older than the general population of benefit recipients. The fathers' age ranges from 21 to 57 years,
and the mean age was 35 years (see Table 1 for descriptive statistics). In order to make the fathers' data more
representative of the population, an age weight has been used in the analysis.

Concepts and Measures

Both fathers and mothers were asked about the father's take-up of parental leave. In the fathers' questionnaire, we
asked, "Did you take parental leave (when the child was about 4-9 months old)?" By specifying the child's age we
wanted to make sure the respondent knew what type of leave the question was addressing, as the various types of

PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 4 of 13

leave are often mixed in everyday discourse. The alternative responses were no and yes. When the respondent
answered yes, he was asked to give the number of parental leave weeks that were taken.

Statutory possibilities of doing fatherhood are actualised in different manners by fathers in different socio-
economic positions. The age of becoming a parent has continued to rise during the past decades. Today the
median age of fist-time mothers in Finland is about 28 years, and that of fathers about 30 years; fewer than 40% of
men aged 30 and only 14% of men aged 25 have children (Paajanen, 2006). Thus, parents under 30 can be
considered as "young parents." Younger fathers are often students or in temporary employment, while fathers in
their thirties often have a more stable economic and professional situation, which places them a better position for
negotiating parental leave with the employer. In the analysis, age is used as a continuous variable.

As the birth of the first child is often postponed because of studies, work, or lack of a suitable partner (Paajanen,
2002) both parents usually have waited for a long time. For many fathers, the first child becomes something very
special and important. The mother and the father with little previous experience in childcare and no routinised
division of labour between them potentially may be equal carers for their firstborn child. The reproduction of non-
symmetric take-up of parental leave by the vast majority of parents suggests this is not the case. But some fathers
may not take leave due to a lack of information about various alternatives and statutory rights. Often, parents who
are in the beginning of their "parental career" (i.e., having their first child) are less aware of the father's leave rights
(Lammi-Taskula 2003). In the analysis, the number of children is used as a continuous variable.

Previous research in the Nordic countries has shown that parental leave is shared between parents more often
among those with high education levels. Fathers with a university degree, whose spouses have university degrees,
have taken parental leave more often than others (Bekkengen, 2002; Brandth &Kvande, 2002; Christoffersen, 1990;
Nyman &Pettersson, 2002; Takala, 2005). In the analysis, the respondent's as well as his partner's (i.e., the child's
mother's) education was used as a multinomial variable with four categories: no professional education,
vocational school or course, college or polytechnic, and university degree. In addition to each individual parent's
educational background, the comparison of both parents' education level was included in the analysis. The
partners' relative education level variable was constructed by comparing the father's education level to that of his
partner's. Two categories were con-structed: father's education level was equal or higher than the mother's, and
father's education level was lower than the mother's.

In addition to education level, the parents' occupational status has been related to the take-up patterns of parental
leave. According to previous studies, fathers in white-collar positions take parental leave more often than fathers
in blue-collar occupations. On the other hand, managerial duties seem to affect the length of leaves, as the leave
periods taken by men in higher occupational positions are often shorter than those taken by blue-collar or lower
white-collar employees (Brandth &Kvande, 2002; Lammi Taskula, 2003). Mothers in low-status or precarious labour
market positions take longer leave periods (Lammi-Taskula 2004; Olsen 2000). As clerical or white collar jobs can
be quite heterogeneous in regard to duties and pay, the respondents of our study were asked to report their own as
well as their spouse's occupational position on a six-item scale (see Table 1). In the analysis, the six categories
were recoded into three: blue-collar, lower white and upper white collar. The lower white collar group includes
industrial, technical or office clerks, and the upper white collar group includes those in expert, superior, and
manager positions.

Also factors related to the father's workplace influence his fatherhood practices (Russell &Hwang 2004). Previous
studies show that men employed in the public sector take parental leave more often than those employed in the
private sector (Brandth &Kvande, 2002; Christoffersen, 1997; Lammi-Taskula 2003; Riksförsäkringsverket, 1993;
Takala, 2005). In the female-dominated public sector, long periods of childcare leave are common. Encouragement

PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 5 of 13

at the workplace for men to take leave is reported more often by those employed in the state sector than those
employed in the private sector (Lehto &Sutela, 2004). Thus, it may be easier for fathers to exercise their statutory
leave rights in the public rather than private sector organizations. In the questionnaire, the respondent could report
his or her employer as a private company, a municipality, the state, an organization (NGO), or other. The six
categories of the variable measuring the father's sector of employment were recoded into a dichotomy: state and
municipality into public sector and enterprise, own business, religious or other organisations into private sector.

Most studies on parental leave show that family economy is one of the main obstacles for sharing parental leave
between mothers and fathers (Chronholm, 2004; Olsen 2000; Plantin 2001). Prevailing gender differences in
income are often reflected in fam-ilies: fathers have higher income levels than mothers. Parents expect to lose
economically if the father takes parental leave even if his income-related benefit would be higher than the
mother's, and even if they do not actually make calculations to verify their expectations (Lammi-Taskula, 2003).
Thus, fathers with income levels lower than the mothers' can be expected to take parental leave more often than
fathers whose income levels are higher than their spouses'. The respondent's as well as his partner's net income
level before the birth of the child are variables with ten categories, and in the analysis the variable was treated as if
it were continuous. The partner's relative income level variable was constructed by comparing the father's net
income level before the child to that of his partner's. Two categories were constructed: father's income level was
equal or higher than the mother's, and father's income level was lower than the mother's.

The division of labour and power in the home has consequences for men's and women's positions in the labour
market, and vice versa (Salmi, 2004). Thus, gendered take-up of parental leave is closely related to gender equality
more generally. Interview studies with parents have shown that in addition to economic rationality and practical
aspects, also gender ideology plays a role when parental leave is negotiated. Especially cultural conceptions of
motherhood are important in relation to possibilities of doing fatherhood: if childcare is seen as the mother's
responsibility, it is not easy for her to return to work before the whole parental leave period is over (Brandth
&Kvande, 2003; Olsen 2000; Plantin, 2001).

In the survey questionnaire, items related to gender ideology included general attitudes towards sharing parental
leave between mothers and fathers and conceptions of parental responsibilities relevant for sharing parental leave
in one's own family. The question related to general opinions was, "Today, mothers take most parental leave (when
the child is under 10 months old). What do you think of the following state-ments?" The statements used in this
analysis were, "The prevailing practice is good" and "It would be good if fathers took more parental leave." The 5-
item scale response of alternatives ranged from fully agree to fully disagree. A dichotomous variable, pro-sharing
ideology was constructed giving value 1 (pro-sharing) to those who disagree (fully or somewhat) to the first
statement and agree (fully or somewhat) to the latter one, and value 0 to others. The question related to one's own
family practice was, "Which factors were relevant for the division of parental leave in your family?" The factors
used in the analysis were, "I think the mother should be primarily responsible for child-care" and "I think the father
should be primarily responsible for breadwinning." The yes responses were coded as 1 and no as well as can't say
responses were coded as 0 for both the mothercare ideology and male breadwinner ideology variables.

Analysis Techniques

The fathers of young children who replied to our questionnaire are not typical Finnish fathers: they have taken
more paternity as well as parental leave than men in general. As those fathers who have not taken any leave are
not included in our data, the two groups of fathers used in the analysis are both leave-taking fathers. Take-up of
parental leave was used to divide the fathers into these two groups and provide the values for the dependent
variable. The first group took at least some parental leave and in almost all cases had taken some paternity leave.

PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 6 of 13

The comparison group includes those who had only taken paternity leave of one to three weeks and no parental
leave.

The various independent variables related to the take-up of parental leave (such as age, education, occupational
position and income), are correlated with one another to varying degrees. Those in their thirties have more often
earned higher education degrees than those in their twenties. Fathers with high education levels are more often in
white-collar positions than those with less education. Employees' income levels are related both to their age and
education, as well as occupational position (Statistics Finland, 2005.)

In order to examine the relevance of each aspect separately as well as taking into account other aspects
simultaneously, logistic regression is used. Logistic regression allows one to predict a discrete outcome such as
take-up of parental leave from a set of variables; it is used in order to find out which variables predict the outcome;
and whether a particular variable increases or decreases the probability of the outcome (Tabachnick &Fidell, 2001).

In the logistic regression model, the dependent variable (take-up of parental leave by the father) gets value 1 when
the event examined happens (the father took parental leave), and otherwise 0 (when he did not take parental
leave). The coefficient (B) taps the effect of each independent variable on the likelihood that the dependent
variable takes place. The bigger the absolute value of the coefficient the stronger is the effect. The change in the
odds ratio Exp(B) shows how much the likelihood of the dependent variable changes if the value of the
independent variable grows by one unit (i.e., how much more likely it is that the father has taken parental leave).
Cases with missing values for any variable are not included in the models.

Results

The first logistic regression analysis (see Table 2) includes the socio-economic aspects that often are associated
with the possibilities of sharing parental leave between mothers and fathers. Although income differences
between women and men are typical justifications for not sharing parental leave, the model does not support the
relevance of income level for the father's take-up of parental leave. When other socio-economic aspects are taken
into account, neither the income level of each parent, nor their relative income level (income difference between
partners) are relevant for the likelihood of the father's parental leave. Also the father's age, his sector of
employment, and the education level and occupational position of each parent, which had been significant when
analyzed separately, lost their significance for sharing parental leave when all these aspects are simultaneously
accounted for.

The logistic regression model shows that the mother's socio-economic position is more relevant for the gendered
division of parental leave than the father's: when the partner is in an upper white collar position (i.e., has an expert
or managerial job), the father is twice as likely to take parental leave compared to those whose partner is in a blue-
collar position.

The low explanatory power (R2 ) of the model suggests that factors other than socioeconomic ones may be more
significant for father's take-up of parental leave. In the next logistic regression model, ideological conceptions of
fatherhood and motherhood are included along with the only socio-economic aspect that was significant in the
previous model-the mother's occupational position (see Table 3).

In the configuration of socio-economic and ideological aspects of fathers' parental leave, social divisions among
mothers still appear as relevant. In families where the mother has a higher occupational position, parental leave is
more likely to be taken also by the father. However, with the socio-economic position controlled, an important

PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 7 of 13

predictor of fathers taking parental leave is their gender ideology. Fathers' general attitudes are in accordance with
their own practices: those who are pro-sharing (i.e., criticize the prevailing situation where mothers take most
parental leave and think it would be good if more fathers took parental leave) are twice as likely to have taken
parental leave themselves, compared to those who accept the non-sharing status quo.

The father's male breadwinner ideology is also significant for the likelihood of his take-up of parental leave: fathers
who report their primacy in breadwinning as a justification for the division of leave in their own family are only half
as likely to have taken parental leave themselves, compared to other fathers (see Table 3). Conceptions of the
mother's primacy in childcare are important as well: if the father supports the normative conception of mothercare
in his family, the likelihood of his parental leave is about a third of that of other men. Hence, the most decisive
aspect for the take-up of parental leave by fathers who think that in general parental leave should be more equally
shared, and who have spouses with an expert position in the labour market; and reject being a primary
breadwinner in the family, is actually their ideological conception of childcare as a shared parental responsibility.

Discussion

The heterosexual nuclear family is an institution in which members display gender on a daily basis in relation to
the rules and behaviours expected of women and men (Risman, 1998, pp. 4-6). What women and men do and do
not do as parents in their everyday life reflects the symbolic gender order: which tasks and responsibilities seem
"natural" or "normal" in their social setting. Women are often required (and require of themselves) to commit
themselves to care work (Jonasdottir, 1991). In case separate parental responsibilities are understood as ideal,
doing "proper" fatherhood means more breadwinning and less unpaid carework. When childcare is understood as a
shared responsibility, parental leave may be a "natural" part of doing fatherhood.

In Finland, the possibilities for sharing the care of young children between the parents are quite extensive at the
institutional level, but in practice the hegemonic pattern is still one with "a small dose of fathercare" (Leira, 2002, p.
101). Despite women's high employment rate and the prevalence of full-time work, the division of labour in unpaid
care work between men and women has remained unequal. Mothers spend more time in care and housework, and
take more employment breaks than fathers. This means women accumulate fewer years of work experience and
seniority, and are faced with a "motherhood penalty" in their income.

The high popularity of paternity leave in Finland indicates that taking some leave from work to take care of one's
child has become a "normal" part of doing fatherhood. Even if more fathers are taking parental leave than before,
they are still a minority group. Fathers' leave periods are usually quite short and the share of all leave days taken is
low. Thus, a long-term effect of taking leaves on gender equality has not been very radical.

Parenthood is still commonly identified with motherhood (Vuori, 2001). According to our data, social divisions
among mothers rather than fathers are related to the sharing of parental leave between parents. It is her
employment situation that creates conditions for his take-up of leave. Regardless of the father's own socio-
economic position, he is more likely to take parental leave if his spouse has a good position in the labour market.
Highly educated women may have deliberately chosen a partner who is pro-sharing and can be expected to
support her career by taking his share of parental leave.

Indeed, the parents' gender ideology seems to be a more crucial aspect in relation to sharing parental leave than
economic rationality. By taking parental leave, fathers actualise general attitudes towards shared parenthood, as
well as conceptions of gendered parental responsibilities in their own family life. When the father is critical
towards the prevailing hegemony of mothercare, and supports fathers' participation in the early childcare in

PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 8 of 13

general, he is more likely to take parental leave himself. Also, when the father thinks separate, gendered parental
responsibilities are irrelevant in his own family, it is more likely that parental leave is shared by parents.

The father's take-up of parental leave does not necessarily challenge the prevailing mothercare ideology as
seemingly contradictory ideology and practice may coexist. His parental leave may be a practical solution and not
regarded as taking full care responsibility. The mother's primacy can also be maintained by timing and length of
the father's leave period so that it is short and takes place as late as possible.

A limitation of the present study is that the data are cross-sectional and retrospective, (i.e., the respondents have
reported at one point in time about their conceptions and attitudes after the parental leave period is over). It is not
possible to know which came first: the conceptions of gender and parental responsibilities, or the practice (i.e., the
division of paid and unpaid work between parents). The way fathers think about gendered parental responsibilities
may also have developed as a result of their experiences in family life. Gender ideology can sometimes also be a
discursive strategy used to explain one's choices afterwards.

The family as a unit with united interest is a presupposition that has been criticized by feminist researchers. When
the division of labour in families between women and men, mothers and fathers is discussed, it is necessary to
take into account the possibility of conflicting needs and interests of the family members. Parental responsibilities
are often negotiated and reproduced implicitly, the shared understandings and common everyday practices of
doing motherhood and fatherhood are developed gradually and almost unobserved (Ahrne &Roman, 1997).
Gendered practices become more visible and open to change when the ideals of parental responsibilities, and the
al ternative ways of doing gender are openly discussed. It seems that assumptions related to routine
performances of parental practices in Finland-mothercare as obvious and the father's paid employment as
inevitable-need to be further questioned and challenged in policy as well as in everyday life of families.

References
References
Ahrne, G., &Roman, C. (1997). Hemmet, barnen och makten. Förhandlingar om arbete och pengar i familjen [Home,
children and power. Negotiations of work and money in the fam-ily]. Stockholm: Statens Offentliga Utredningar
(Official Reports by the State of Sweden).
Alasoini, T. (2006). Työnteon mielekkyyden muutos Suomessa vuosina 1992-2005. Työolo-barometrin aineistoihin
perustuva analyysi [Changes of meaningfulness of work in Finland 1992-2005. Analysis of Working Conditions
Barometer data]. Helsinki: Tykes.
Alvesson, M., &Due Billing, Y. (1999). Kön och organisation [Gender and organization]. Lund: Studentlitteratur.
Anttonen, A. (1994). Hyvinvointivaltion naisystävälliset kasvot [The women-friendly faces of the welfare state]. In
A. Anttonen, L. Henriksson, &R. Nätkin (Eds.), Naisten hyvinvointivaltio (pp. 203-226). Tampere: Vastapaino.
Anttonen, A. (2003). Lastenhoidon kaksi maailmaa [Two worlds of childcare]. In H. Forsberg &R. Nätkin (Eds.),
Perhe murroksessa. Kriittisen perhetutkimuksen jäljillä (pp. 159-185). Hel-sinki: Gaudeamus.
Bekkengen, L. (2002). Man får välja - om föräldraskap och föräldraledighet i arbetsliv och familjeliv [Men can
choose - about parenthood and parental leave in working life and family life]. Malmö: Liber.
Brandth, B., &Kvande, E. (2002). Reflexive fathers: Negotiating parental leave and working life. Gender, Work and
Organization, 9, 186-203.
Brandth, B., &Kvande, E. (2003). Fleksible fedre. Maskulinitet, arbeid, velferdsstat [Flexible fathers. Masculinity,
work, welfare state]. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
Christoffersen, M. N. (1990). Barselorlov - maends og kvinders erhvervsmaessige baggrund for at tage orlov
[Parental leave - men's and women's occupational background for taking leave]. Copenhagen:
Socialforskningsinstitutet (The Danish National Centre for Social Research).

PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 9 of 13

Chronholm, A. (2004). Föräldraledig pappa. Mäns erfarenheter av delad föräldraledighet [Father on parental leave.
Men's experiences of sharing parental leave]. Gothenburg: Department of Sociology, Gothenburg University.
Connell, R.W. (1995). Masculinities. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Gislason, I.(2004). Papporna på Island [Fathers in Iceland]. In U. Lorentzi (Ed.), Vems valfrihet? Stockholm: Agora.
Haataja, A. (2004). Pohjoismaiset vanhempainvapaat kahden lasta hoitavan vanhemman tukena [Nordic parental
leave schemes as support for dual carer parents]. JANUS, 12, 25-48.
Haataja, A. (2005). Äidit ja isät työmarkkinoilla [Mothers and fathers in the labour market]. Helsinki: Ministry of
Social Affairs and Health.
Haataja, A., &Nyberg, A.(2006). Diverging paths? The dual-earner/dual-carer model in Finland and Sweden in the
1990s. In A. L. Ellingsaeter &A. Leira (Eds.), Politicising parenthood in Scandinavia. Gender relations in welfare
states (pp. 217-239). Bristol: Policy Press.
Hernes, H. (1987). Welfare state and woman power. Oslo: Norwegian University Press.
Hobson, B. (Ed.). (2002). Making men into fathers. Men, masculinities and the social politics of fatherhood.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Jonasdottir, A. G. (1991). Love power and political interests. Kumla: University of Örebro.
Julkunen, R. (1994). Suomalainen sukupuolimalli - 1960-luku käänteenä [Finnish gender model - 1960s as a turning
point]. In A. Anttonen, L. Henriksson, &R. Nätkin (Eds.). Naisten hy-vinvointivaltio (pp. 179-201). Tampere:
Vastapaino.
Kela. (2006). Tilastollinen vuosikirja 2005 [Statistical Yearbook of the Social Insurance Institution, Finland 2005].
Vammala: Kansaneläkelaitos (The Social Insurance Institution of Fin-land).
Kolehmainen, S. (1999). Naisten ja miesten työt. Työmarkkinoiden segregoituminen Suomessa 1970-1990
[Women's work and men's work. The segregation of the labour market in Finland 1970-1990]. Helsinki: Statistics
Finland.
Lammi-Taskula, J. (1998). Miesten perhevapaat [Men's family leave]. Helsinki: Työelämän ja perhe-elämän
yhteensovittaminen, Stakes.
Lammi-Taskula, J. (2003). Isät vapaalla. Ketkä pitävät isyys- ja vanhempainvapaata ja miksi? [Fathers on leave.
Who takes paternity and parental leave, and why?]. Yhteiskuntapolitiikka, 68, 293-298.
Lammi-Taskula, J. (2004). Äidit työmarkkinoilla - kahden kerroksen väkeä? [Mothers in the labour market -
polarized people?]. Yhteiskuntapolitiikka, 69, 202-206.
Lehto, A., &Sutela, H. (1999). Gender equality in working life. Helsinki: Statistics Finland.
Lehto, A., &Sutela, H. (2004). Uhkia ja mahdollisuuksia. Työolotutkimusten tuloksia 1977-2003 [Threats and
possibilities. Results from the work conditions studies 1977-2003]. Helsinki: Statistics Finland.
Leira, A. (2002). Working parents and the welfare state. Family change and policy reform in Scandinavia.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Melkas, T. (2005). Gender equality barometer 2004. Helsinki: Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
Moss, P., &Deven, F. (Eds.) (1999). Parental leave: Progress or pitfall? Research and policy issues in Europe. The
Hague, Brussels: The Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI) / Centrum voor Bevolkings- en
Gezinsstudie (Belgian Center for Demographic and Gender Studies) (CBGS).
Niemi, I., &Pääkkönen, H. (2001). Ajankäytön muutokset 1990-luvulla [Changes in time-use in the 1990s]. Helsinki:
Statistics Finland.
Nordic Social-Statistical Committee NOSOSCO (2006). Social protection in the Nordic Countries 2004. Scope,
expenditure and financing. Copenhagen: NOSOSCO.
Nyman, H., &Petterson, J. (2002). Spelade pappamånaden någon roll?-pappornas uttag av föräldrapenning [Did the
father's month make a difference? Fathers' take-up of parental ben-efit]. Stockholm: Riksförsäkringsverket.
Nätti, J., &Väisänen, M. (2000). Työajat ja työsuhteet kotitaloudessa [Working hours and work contracts in
households]. In A. Lehto &N. Järnefelt (Eds.), Jaksaen ja joustaen. Artikkeleita työolotutkimuksesta. Helsinki:
Statistics Finland.

PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 10 of 13

O'Brien, M. (2004). Social science and public policy perspectives on fatherhood in the European Union. In M. E.
Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in child development (pp. 121-145). New York: John Wiley &Sons.
Olsen, B. M. (2000). Nye fedre på orlov [New fathers on leave]. Copenhagen: Copenhagen University.
Paajanen, P. (2002). Saako haikara tulla käymään? Suomalaisten lastenhankinnan ihanteet ja todellisuus.
Perhebarometri 2002 [May the stork visit? Ideals and reality of reproduction in Finland. Family Barometer 2002].
Helsinki: Väestöliitto.
Paajanen, P. (2006). Päivisin leiväntuoja, iltaisin hoiva-isä. Alle 3-vuotiaiden esikoislasten isien näkemyksiä ja
kokemuksia isyydestä. Perhebarometri 2006 [Breadwinner during the day, caring father in the evening. Perceptions
and experiences of fathers whose first-born child is under 3. Family Barometer 2006]. Helsinki: Väestöliitto.
Pulkkinen, P. (Ed.). (2005). Gender equality in Finland 2004. Helsinki: Statistics Finland.
Rantalaiho, L. (1997). Contextualising gender. In L. Rantalaiho &T. Heiskanen (Eds.), Gendered practices in working
life (pp. 16-30). London: MacMillan.
Reuna, V. (1998). Vastuu perheen arjessa. Perhebarometri 1998 [Responsibility in the family everyday life. Family
Barometer 1998]. Helsinki: Väestöliitto.
Riksförsäkringsverket (1993). Vilka pappor kom hem? [Which fathers came home?]. Stockholm:
Riksförsäkringsverket.
Risman, B. J. (1998). Gender vertigo. American families in transition. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Russell, G., &Hwang, C. P. (2004). The impact of workplace practices on father involvement. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.),
The role of the father in child development (pp. 476-503). New York: John Wiley &Sons.
Salmi, M., &Lammi-Taskula, J. (2002). Mitä pienten lasten vanhemmat haluavat perhepolitii-kalta? [What do
parents want from family policy?]. Yhteiskuntapolitiikka, 67, 578-583.
Salmi, M.(2004). Työn ja perheen yhteensovittamisen kentät [Fields of work-family reconcilia-tion]. In M. Salmi &J.
Lammi-Taskula (Eds), Puhelin, mummo vai joustava työaika? Työn ja perheen yhdistämisen arkea (pp. 1-9).
Helsinki: Stakes.
Statistics Finland (2005). Women and men in Finland 2005. Helsinki: Statistics Finland.
Tabachnick, B. G., &Fidell, L. S. (2001). Using multivariate statistics. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Takala, P. (2000). Lastenhoito ja sen julkinen tuki [Childcare and its public support]. Helsinki: Stakes.
Takala, P. (2005). Uuden isyysvapaan ja isän muiden perhevapaiden käyttö [Use of the new paternity leave and
other family leave schemes for fathers]. Helsinki: Kela.
Vuori, J. (2001). Äidit, isät ja ammattilaiset [Mothers, fathers and professionals]. Tampere: Tam-pere University
Press.
West, C., &Zimmerman, D. H. (2002). Doing gender. In S. Fenstermaker &C. West (Eds.), Doing gender, doing
difference. Inequality, power, and institutional change (pp. 3-23). New York: Routledge.

AuthorAffiliation
JOHANNA LAMMI-TASKULA
Stakes (National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health),
Helsinki, Finland

AuthorAffiliation
Johanna Lammi-Taskula, Stakes (National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health), Helsinki,
Finland.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Johanna Lammi-Taskula, Stakes (National
Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health), P.O. Box 220, 00531 Helsinki, Finland. Electronic mail:
johanna.lammi@stakes.fi

PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 11 of 13

DETAILS

Subject: Families &family life; Maternity &paternity leaves; Family leave; Parents &parenting;
Children &youth; Responsibilities; Fathers; Economic history

Location: Finland

Publication title: Fathering; Harriman

Volume: 6

Issue: 2

Pages: 133-142,144-148

Number of pages: 15

Publication year: 2008

Publication date: Spring 2008

Publisher: Men's Studies Press

Place of publication: Harriman

Country of publication: United States, Harriman

Publication subject: Children And Youth - About, Sociology

ISSN: 15376680

e-ISSN: 1933026X

Source type: Scholarly Journals

Language of publication: English

Document type: Feature

Document feature: Tables References

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3149/fth.0602.133

ProQuest document ID: 222714636

Document URL: http://ezproxy.uef.fi:2048/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-

journals/doing-fatherhood-understanding-gendered-use/docview/222714636/se-
2?accountid=11739

Copyright: Copyright Men's Studies Press Spring 2008

PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 12 of 13

 Last updated: 2018-10-07

Database: Social Science Premium Collection

LINKS
Full text availability in UEF

Database copyright  2021 ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved.

Terms and Conditions Contact ProQuest

PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 13 of 13