Policy as normative influence? On the relationship between parental leave policy and social norms in gender division of childcare across 48 countries

Simon Schindler, Carolin Schuster, Maria I. T. Olsson, Laura Froehlich, Ann‐Kathrin Hübner, Katharina Block, Colette van Laar, Toni Schmader, Loes Meeussen, Sanne Van Grootel

90 more authors

Alyssa Croft, Molly Shuyi Sun, Mare Ainsaar, Lianne Aarntzen, Magdalena Adamus, Joel Anderson, Ciara Atkinson, Mohamad Avicenna, Przemysław Bąbel, Markus Barth, Tessa M. Benson‐Greenwald, Edona Maloku, Jacques Berent, Hilary Burbank Bergsieker, Monica Biernat, Andreea Georgiana Bîrneanu, Blerta Bodinaku, Janine Bosak, Jennifer K. Bosson, Marija Branković, Julius Burkauskas, Vladimíra Čavojová, Sapna Cheryan, Eunsoo Choi, Incheol Choi, Carlos César Contreras‐Ibáñez, Andrew N. Coogan, Ivan Danyliuk, Ilan Dar‐Nimrod, Nilanjana Dasgupta, Soledad de Lemus, Thierry Devos, Marwan Diab, Amanda B. Diekman, Maria Efremova, Léïla Eisner, Anja Eller, Rasa Erentaitė, Denisa Fedáková, Renata Franc, Leire Gartzia, Alin Gavreliuc, Dana Gavreliuc, Julija Gečaitė-Stončienė, Adriana L. Germano, Ilaria Giovannelli, Renzo Gismondi Diaz, Lyudmila Gitikhmayeva, Abiy Menkir Gizaw, Biljana Gjoneska, Omar Martínez González, Roberto González, Isaac David Grijalva, Derya Güngör, Marie Gustafsson Sendén, William M. Hall, Charles Harb, Bushra Hassan, Tabea Häßler, Diala R. Hawi, Levke Henningsen, Annedore Hoppe, Keiko Ishii, Ivana M. Jakšić, Alba Jasini, Jurgita Jurkevičienė, Kaltrina Kelmendi, Teri Ann Kirby, Yoko Kitakaji, Natasza Kosakowska‐Berezecka, Inna Kozytska, Clara Kulich, Eva Kundtová Klocová, Filiz Künüroğlu, Christina Lapytskaia Aidy, Albert Lee, Anna Lidfors Lindqvist, Wilson López‐López, Liany Luzvinda, Fridanna Maricchiolo, Delphine Martinot, Rita Anne McNamara, Alyson Meister, Tizita Lemma Melka, Narseta Mickuvienė, María Isabel Miranda‐Orrego, Thadeus Mkamwa, James S. Morandini, Thomas A. Morton, David Haruna Mrisho

2024

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DOI 10.1111/bjso.12806
Data confidence 70 medium
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Abstract

In the present work, we addressed the relationship between parental leave policies and social norms. Using a pre-registered, cross-national approach, we examined the relationship between parental leave policies and the perception of social norms for the gender division of childcare. In this study, 19,259 students (11,924 women) from 48 countries indicated the degree to which they believe childcare is (descriptive norm) and should be (prescriptive norm) equally divided among mothers and fathers. Policies were primarily operationalized as the existence of parental leave options in the respective country. The descriptive and prescriptive norms of equal division of childcare were stronger when parental leave was available in a country - also when controlling for potential confounding variables. Moreover, analyses of time since policy change suggested that policy change may initially affect prescriptive norms and then descriptive norms at a later point. However, due to the cross-sectional nature of the data, drawing causal inferences is difficult.