El camino hacia permisos de maternidad y paternidad iguales e intransferibles en España

  1. Gerardo Meil 1
  2. Jesús Rogero-García 1
  3. Pedro Romero-Balsas 1
  4. Concepción Castrillo-Bustamante 2
  1. 1 Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
    info

    Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

    Madrid, España

    ROR https://ror.org/01cby8j38

  2. 2 Universidad Complutense de Madrid
    info

    Universidad Complutense de Madrid

    Madrid, España

    ROR 02p0gd045

Journal:
Revista del Ministerio de Empleo y Seguridad Social: Revista del Ministerio de Trabajo, Migraciones y Seguridad Social

ISSN: 2254-3295

Year of publication: 2019

Issue Title: Economía y Sociología

Issue: 141

Pages: 15-36

Type: Article

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More publications in: Revista del Ministerio de Empleo y Seguridad Social: Revista del Ministerio de Trabajo, Migraciones y Seguridad Social

Abstract

The gender gap in the share of domestic and care work represents one of the dimensions of gender inequality which is changing more slowly. In order to speed up its change, different mechanisms have been introduced in equality policies, among which, the promotion of paternity leaves by men has become increasingly important. The objectives that are pursued are, on the one hand, to facilitate the socialization of fathers in the care of children, encouraging co-responsibility and, on the other hand, to defeminize the use of parental leaves. The objectives of the present paper are to support the relevance and effectiveness of prolonging the duration of the paternity leave, contextualize the emergence of the objective of equalizing maternity and paternity leaves and analyse how it has been specified in the Spanish legislation. Most studies show that the use of leaves by men increases their participation in the care of children, both at the time they enjoy the leave, and subsequently. There is not enough evidence about a greater involvement in domestic work, as a consequence of the previous statement. A relevant aspect in this regard, however, is the duration of leaves, since a longer duration is associated with greater involvement. The period in which leaves are enjoyed is also of great relevance, since the socializing effect on care is much greater when fathers use the leave alone, when mothers return to their jobs. This greater involvement in the care of children also means a lower risk of breakup of the marriage and, if this happens, it leads to a more frequent contact with non-cohabiting children. The studies carried out, however, also show that the longer the leaves are, the greater the risk of discrimination at work, both for women and men. So as to understand how the equalization and non-transferability of maternity and paternity leave have been implemented in the gender equality policy agenda, it is necessary to consider some economic and political changes produced in the 2007-2019 period. These changes, together with the participation of social movements as key actors, have shaped a unique opportunity structure that has allowed this objective to materialize. In the 2007-2014 period, which was characterized by the economic crisis and cuts in social spending, work-life balance policies were pushed into the background. The planned extension of paternity leaves from two to four weeks created in 2007 was, therefore, systematically delayed until 2017. The “Platform for Equal and Non-transferable Leaves of Birth and Adoption” (PPiiNA) emerged in the field of social movements and it gradually defined, justified and created a political debate about the idea of equal and non-transferable maternity and paternity leaves. Its objectives are built around the fact that women are the main caretakers of the family, which implies a greater workload and it is one of the core elements that explain gender discrimination in the labour market. This situation considers that it affects not only women who are mothers, but all of them as a group, due to the so-called “statistical discrimination”, that is to say, it is considered that women are less available for employment than men, by the fact that they mostly assume the responsibility for care. Equal leaves for both parents are understood as a way to eliminate this statistical discrimination by extending it to men as well and weakening the division of masculine and feminine roles. The PETRA Platform (Platform of Feminist Mothers for the Extension of Transferable Leaves) has been set up to face these postulates; it is made up of mothers who demand the extension of transferable leaves to improve the protection of motherhood and breastfeeding. In the political arena, until the economic recovery towards 2014, the demands for the development of work-life balance polices are pushed into the background, with left-wing parties being in favour of the extension of paternity leave to four weeks and the conservative party (PP) to defend the freedom of choice of families. The new political parties (Podemos, left-wing, and Ciudadanos, centre-right) emerging from the political crisis which was brewing during that period and competing in the 2015 elections, have echoed the goal of equal maternity and paternity leaves, being Podemos the only party that fully supports the objectives and discourse of PPiiNA. The centre-right party Ciudadanos, meanwhile, proposed an extension of the postpartum maternity leave for up to 26 weeks, of which 8 were non-transferable for each parent and 10 to be shared between both of them. The parliamentary fragmentation that took place in the elections of 2015 and 2016 forced the attempt to form coalitions, being in all the coalition agreements the extension of one or another form of paternity leave. It is with the dissolution of the Parliament to call new elections in April 2019, when the government of the socialist party approves Royal Decree Law 6/2019, of March 1, which materializes the transit in two years towards the equalization of both leaves. The latest innovations introduced by this law are: 1) the change of the name of the leaves for “leave for birth, adoption, custody for adoption or fostering purposes”, 2) the equalization of the duration of the leave for both parents, 3) increased flexibility to enjoy them (up to one year), 4) equalization of the contribution requirements to qualify for the benefit and 5) extension of the breastfeeding leave up to twelve months (under certain circumstances), as well as the creation of a substitute benefit that compensates the corresponding salary reduction. One of the most significant limitations of the law is that it does not establish that parents are left alone to care for their children as a socially desirable model.

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Funding information

Este trabajo se enmarca dentro del Proyecto financiado por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad CSO2017-84634-R, a quienes los autores agradecen la ayuda recibida.

Funders

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