Rationale of the book

The starting point for this book is the Norwegian model of work and welfare, which, together with other Nordic countries, includes policies to support working mothers and fathers through an extensive parental leave system combined with high-quality daycare for children (Brandth et al, 2017). This reflects the dominant parenting norm of dual-earners and dual-carers (Sainsbury, 1999; Gornick and Meyers, 2009a), a norm promoted by scholars of welfare state regimes as a key to achieving gender equality (Esping-Andersen, 2002; Pascall, 2012). Parental leave and granting fathers parental leave rights remains a much-discussed topic in the Nordic gender equality debate. An earmarked right for fathers, the father's quota is a core component of the parental leave system, and the major focus of this book. It has existed for many years, it is popular and it is widely used.

Internationally, few elements of social policy have drawn such sustained attention as parental leave policies (Gornick, 2015). Many countries across the globe are currently in the process of introducing policies in this field, with others developing and refining already-existing policies. Despite global crisis and a politics of retrenchment, nations are continuing to develop this policy area, with only a few examples of cutbacks during the decade from 2004 to 2014 (Moss and Deven, 2015).

The annual report from the International Network of Leave Policies and Research (Blum et al, 2018) provides an overview of policies in the 43 countries represented by its members. It shows great variety in policy design and eligibility, reflecting diverse welfare regimes, economies and family cultures. This is illustrated by contributions in a special issue of the journal Community, Work & Family (2015), where a regime-type framework was used to illustrate countries’ different policy trajectories. Moss and Deven (2015: 140) point out that most policy developments fit the notion of ‘path dependency’ as they do not seem to diverge far from an established policy. Many countries continue to reproduce maternalist presumptions at the expense of rights for fathers. Nevertheless, one common trend that stands out is a growing attention to fathers and an interest in fashioning leave policies that help increase fathers’ involvement in childcare.