Introduction

This chapter deals with how fathers make use of the flexibility provided by the parental leave scheme in Norway. The public debate on the father's quota in recent decades has involved the weighing of earmarking (which reduces choice) against parents’ freedom to choose for themselves how to divide the leave between them (Ellingsater, 2012). It is strange that the debate has overlooked the type of choice that is already embedded in the father's quota, which concerns flexible timing of the leave and provides fathers with many options and choices. As the father's quota combines earmarking and flexibility, it is within ideologies of regulation as well as the neoliberal ideas based on freedom of choice (Brandth and Kvande, 2017).

The option given to parents to use the leave flexibly is often lauded by policy documents as well as research reports. It is viewed as an opportunity for mothers and fathers to control the timing of their leave-taking, and as having the potential to increase the use of the leave, particularly by fathers.

Leave policies differ greatly between countries, reflecting many different political values, goals and designs, and many countries offer flexible use of parental leave to a smaller or greater degree (see Blum et al, 2018). All the Nordic countries offer flexibility in their leave designs, but not the same options (Duvander et al, 2019).

When the father's quota was introduced, the weeks had to be taken during the child's first year. This fairly rigid design proved to be effective as fathers very soon adapted it as part of their work–family practice (Brandth and Kvande, 2001). The quota has been lengthened over the years, and measures have been introduced to make more fathers eligible (for instance, by juxtaposing employment with a disability pension and introduction programmes for immigrants) and to encourage them to take leave. One such regulation meant to encourage fathers is increased time flexibility. As the neoliberalist ideology of choice made an increasingly strong mark in politics, authorities introduced flexibility into the leave design. According to a parliamentary proposal (Ot prp nr 104, 2004–2005: 28), the most important rationale for a flexible father's quota was ‘to make it simpler to combine work and childcare’. Flexible leave was intended to help achieve the broader goals of the father's quota: dual earning/dual caring and closer father–child relations.