Chapter 12: Work-Life Balance Measures for Fathers as an Instrument to Foster Gender Equality in Family Work: The Experience of Spain

• Gerardo A. Meil Landwerlin ^[1] ; Jesús Rogero García
  1. [1] Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

     Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

     Madrid, España

     
• Localización: European Families Facing Hard Times: Challenges, Strategies, and Family Policies / Vida Cesnuitytė (ed. lit.), Gerardo Meil Landwerlin (ed. lit.), Jesús Rogero García (ed. lit.), Irma Budginaitė‐Mačkinė (ed. lit.), 2026, ISBN 9781836088950, págs. 231-248
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen

  • The transition into parenthood is a challenging period in family life. It typically involves a redefinition of gender roles, which can penalize mothers in the labor market and reinforce traditional divisions of family responsibilities. Developed countries have attempted to counterbalance this inequality by implementing parenting leave policies and reconciliation rights, while also promoting their use among fathers. However, progress has been uneven. This chapter focuses on the Spanish case, where well-paid leave entitlements for fathers have been extended to equal those of mothers and can be used very flexibly. Unlike in other countries, Spain’s 2019 reform has been successful, with nearly all eligible fathers taking advantage of it. This trend would partly explain the significant reduction in the overall Gender Inequality Index over the last decade. Based on a survey of 3,100 parents of children under seven years of age, this chapter analyzes the impact of fathers’ use of leave provisions and other work–life balance options (e.g., shorter work weeks, flextime, and teleworking) on the gender gap in time spent on childcare and housework. The results indicate that increasing the length of paternity leave for fathers has considerable potential to reduce this gender gap, provided it is used, and particularly when it is used to care for children after the mother returns to paid work. In contrast, while teleworking shows a similar impact, flextime and reduced working hours do not.