Parental leave and perceptions of women and men as workers and parents: a three-country experiment

• In Event: 20217 - Care (about) Work: At Home and in the Organization

Abstract

How are mothers and fathers who take parental leave perceived as workers and as parents? How do these perceptions change based on the length of leave taken? Do these effects differ by gender and cultural context? This study addresses these questions using original preregistered survey experiments conducted in Germany, South Korea, and the United States—three countries with differing gender norms related to work and parenting. Specifically, we examine perceptions of employees who took varying lengths of parental leave— “short,” “medium,” or “long,” based on each country’s parental leave laws. In all three countries, we find that mothers and fathers who took longer leaves are viewed as better parents than those who took no or shorter leaves across all outcomes tested. However, for fathers in Germany and South Korea, the relationship between leave length and perceptions of parenting is curvilinear, with the positive effect plateauing or declining after medium-length leave. The effect of leave-taking on perceptions of employees as workers is smaller and more complex. While perceived work commitment declines in all three countries as mothers and fathers take longer leaves, other outcomes for fathers do not significantly vary with leave length. By contrast, in Germany and South Korea, mothers taking medium or long leaves are often rated more favorably in terms of work relationships and overall assessment as workers than those taking short leaves. These findings suggest competing norms around work and parenting influence how individuals are evaluated based on their leave-taking behaviors, offering stronger incentives for mothers than fathers to take longer leaves in countries with stronger gender conservatism.

Authors

• Lena Hipp, WZB Berlin Social Science Center

• Youngjoo Cha, Indiana University-Bloomington

• Soocheol Cho, Indiana University-Bloomington