MEHE KODU ON MAAILM, NAISE MAAILM ON KODU? - Tartu Ülikool

TÖÖ- JA PEREELU ÜHITAMINE RECONCILING WORK AND FAMILY LIFE
included children aged 3–6, the percentage of employment among women abruptly increased
and was 75%. Employment rate for women was similar to that of men in households that included
children of school age.
Employment rate among women raising small children can be increased by a higher use of
flexible forms of work, better childcare services or a higher participation of men specifically in
care of pre-school children.
Differences in labour status between women and men direct to the central objective of the
analysis which is to highlight both the use of flexible forms of work and combining work with
taking care of children separately for men and women.
The analysis outlined in this article is based on the results of the Estonian Labour Force Survey.
Taking parental leave and available childcare services
Taking parental leave
With regard to the return of parents to the labour market, an important role is played by
organisation of childcare services and the way staying at home with children is regulated by
legislation. Legislation defines different types of parental leave which enable parents to stay away
from work for a certain period of time, for example, pregnancy and maternity leave, paternity
leave, parental benefit and parental leave. Reconciliation of work and family life is most closely
related to parental benefit and parental leave. A mother or a father is granted parental leave for
the period until the child reaches three years of age. Parental leave may also be granted to the
caregiver of a child if neither the mother nor the father wishes to take the parental leave. Parental
benefit is a benefit paid to one of the parents during a period from the birth of a child until the
child reaches 18 months and it compensates for the loss of profit from work. Parental benefit is
paid to an employed parent in the amount of 100% of the income which is subject to social tax
calculated for the calendar year prior to the date on which the child was born. After the end of the
period of parental benefit, childcare allowance is paid to the person on parental leave.
Although any of the parents can take parental leave by the law, it is mainly the women who take
parental leave. 96% of women and only 7% of men decided to take parental leave after the birth
of their youngest child. (Figure 2)
The main reason for men not to take parental leave was that the leave was taken by their wife or
cohabitee. But nearly one tenth of the men considered financial reasons the most important ones.
(Figure 3)
Why the child’s mother stays at home is an important question. Sundström and Duvander (2002)
tried to explain this and according to them, the decision made in favour of men staying at home is
based on a two-level bargaining process.
The first level of bargaining takes place between the mother and the father, during which it is
decided how long the mother would stay at home and when she would return to work and how
much time of the parental leave is left for the father. The second level of bargaining takes place
between the father and his employer (working environment), during which the father should
consider the possible negative reaction from his colleagues, superior and employer, and the
length of the parental leave (Sundström and Duvander 2002). With bargaining, a mother’s wish to
continue being the main caregiver for her child is an important factor. This wish is often based on
an inability or unwillingness to give up the publicly approved woman’s role in a family. However,
females’ supporting attitude to male’s participation in raising children affects men’s behaviour so
that they would dare to actively participate in caring for children (Gatrell 2005). The overall
attitude of employers and fathers is favourable towards fathers taking parental leave, and it has
been found that fathers and mothers should have equal opportunities for participating in raising
children and reconciling work and family life. However, there is a large gap between the attitudes
of fathers and their actual behaviour (Isad … 2007).
MEHE KODU ON MAAILM, NAISE MAAILM ON KODU? MAN’S HOME IS THE WORLD, WOMAN’S WORLD IS HER HOME? 75