Caring Dads: Childcare Expansions, Paternity Leave and Fathers' Involvement in Childcare

Huebener Mathias, BiB
Malin Mahlbacher, Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB), Germany
Sophia Schmitz, BiB

Fathers' increased involvement in caregiving is often seen as a way to address gender gaps that occur after childbirth. However, there is limited understanding of how family policies can actually promote fathers' participation in domestic work and narrow these gaps. This paper analyses the impact of universal childcare availability for children under three on fathers' uptake of parental leave and their subsequent involvement in childcare. To do this, we use the quasi-experimental variation in regional childcare availability that occurred in Germany in 2013 with the introduction of a legal claim for publicly funded childcare for children under three. Our analysis relies on individual-level data on childcare arrangements and administrative data on childcare rates. Despite a marginal increase in fathers' uptake of parental leave, we find no evidence that fathers' involvement in childcare increased due to greater childcare availability. However, we do observe an increase in maternal labour supply, suggesting that increased childcare availability primarily substitutes maternal care rather than encouraging fathers to take on more caregiving responsibilities at home. Overall, our findings shed new light on the complex relationship between family policies and fathers' involvement, highlighting the limitations of such policies in permanently altering gender roles within the family.

Keywords: Gender Dynamics, Econometrics , Families, Unions and Households, Inequality, Disadvantage and Discrimination

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