Researchers from ISER’s ESRC Research Centre on Micro-Social Change are inviting expert contribution to our discussions on the potentially gendered effects of parenting and the policies that can mitigate these effects. We will cover the parenthood journey from childbirth to parental separation.
The first session will focus on the early stages of parenthood — the newborn phase. We will discuss Shared Parental Leave, a policy designed to promote a more equal balance of caregiving responsibilities between mothers and fathers, whose effectiveness, however, is limited by fathers’ low take-up. We will explore the role of perceived non-monetary factors and peer effects in shaping paternity leave uptake and examine why the current system of Shared Parental Leave fails to deliver and what a more effective design could look like.
The second session will look at the impact of parenting demands on already parents and how institutions – of lack thereof – can mitigate or exacerbate this impact. We will discuss the – potentially gendered – mental health effects of increased parenting demands triggered by pandemic-related school closures. Additionally, we will look at separated families, examining how non-resident fathers’ involvement in their children’s lives has evolved in the UK and the implications this has for child maintenance and social welfare policy.
These presentations will be followed by a round table discussion of interventions and policy reform that can reduce any gendered effect of parenting across the entire parenting journey.
The full programme is below.
The event is 10am -1pm (followed by lunch) at Broadway House, Tothill Street, SE1 (opposite St James Park tube)
A gendered impact of parenting? Evidence and policy responses.
Programme
10am -10.15am arrival and coffees
10.15am-11.15am Session 1: Rebalancing parenting demands at the onset of parenthood: Paternity leave
Why Fathers Don’t Take Parental Leave: Understanding and Shaping Beliefs About the Returns to Paternal Leave– Dr Laura Fumagalli (15 min)
Leave and Let Leave: Workplace Peer Effects in Fathers’ Take-up of Parental Leave in Italy – Professor Alessandra Casarico (15 min)
From Evidence to Reform: Rethinking Parental Leave to Close Gender Gaps – Dr Joanna Clifton-Sprigg (15 min)
Discussion (15 min) – Is the current system of Shared Parental Leave delivering on its promises? How can fathers’ take-up of paternity leave be increased?
What role do social norms play in limiting fathers’ uptake of parental leave?
Which elements of parental leave policy genuinely change behaviour, and which simply repackage existing inequalities? What could a more effective system of parental leave look like?
11.15 Break (10 min)
11.25-12.10 Session 2: Parenting demands for already-parents and the role of institutions
Parenting demands and the gender gap in mental health – Professor Birgitta Rabe (15 min)
11.40 Parenting in Separated Families: Implications for Child Maintenance and Social Welfare Policy– Professor Susan Harkness (15 min)
11.55 Discussion – How can institutions – or lack thereof – mitigate or exacerbate potentially gendered impacts of increased parenting demands triggered by shocks like school closures or partnership dissolution? How can the social security system pay greater attention to the financial obligations and involvement of those who do not live in the same households as their children? (15 min)
12.10 Break (5 min)
12.15 -1pm: Panel Discussion
Final discussion – Which policies can help level the playing field for mothers across the entire parenting journey? Can the UK learn from other countries?
How can we shift social norms and reform policies rooted in the traditional male-breadwinner/female-carer model of the family?
1.15pm Join us for a hot lunch prepared by the excellent Broadway House chefs
Please register for the event here so we have your dietary requirements