Increasing parental leave uptake: A systems social marketing approach
Author(s)
Duffy, Sarah
van Esch, Patrick
Yousef, Murooj
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2020
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Ineffective paid paternity leave policies perpetuate gender inequality and have significant, long-lasting outcomes for families, organisations, and the economy. They maintain unequal divisions in child-rearing and household chores that restrict families’ decisions about workforce participation and caring responsibilities. Low levels of uptake of paternity leave are caused by workplace practices, social norms, and economic factors that influence the choices fathers make when their children are born, and which become entrenched over time. Fathers’ early involvement in children's lives is profoundly beneficial for families, ...
View more >Ineffective paid paternity leave policies perpetuate gender inequality and have significant, long-lasting outcomes for families, organisations, and the economy. They maintain unequal divisions in child-rearing and household chores that restrict families’ decisions about workforce participation and caring responsibilities. Low levels of uptake of paternity leave are caused by workplace practices, social norms, and economic factors that influence the choices fathers make when their children are born, and which become entrenched over time. Fathers’ early involvement in children's lives is profoundly beneficial for families, therefore, we recommend to policy makers and organisations how they can change internal workplace cultures to allow for a more inclusive image of parenting and a more nuanced image of the ideal male worker. We outline a systems social marketing approach that addresses change at the macro, meso and micro levels through the three E's model (establish, explore, and enable), to help policy makers, organisations, and families consider the implications of meaningful parental leave and the importance of increasing fathers’ uptake. Future research questions for increasing parental leave uptake are presented.
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View more >Ineffective paid paternity leave policies perpetuate gender inequality and have significant, long-lasting outcomes for families, organisations, and the economy. They maintain unequal divisions in child-rearing and household chores that restrict families’ decisions about workforce participation and caring responsibilities. Low levels of uptake of paternity leave are caused by workplace practices, social norms, and economic factors that influence the choices fathers make when their children are born, and which become entrenched over time. Fathers’ early involvement in children's lives is profoundly beneficial for families, therefore, we recommend to policy makers and organisations how they can change internal workplace cultures to allow for a more inclusive image of parenting and a more nuanced image of the ideal male worker. We outline a systems social marketing approach that addresses change at the macro, meso and micro levels through the three E's model (establish, explore, and enable), to help policy makers, organisations, and families consider the implications of meaningful parental leave and the importance of increasing fathers’ uptake. Future research questions for increasing parental leave uptake are presented.
View less >
Journal Title
Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ)
Volume
28
Issue
2
Subject
Commerce, management, tourism and services
Marketing
Social Sciences
Business & Economics
Gender equality
Parental leave