Gender Gap in Parental Leave Intentions: Evidence from 37 Countries

Despite global commitments and efforts, a gender-based division of paid and unpaid work persists. To identify how psychological factors, national policies, and the broader sociocultural context contribute to this inequality, we assessed parental-leave intentions in young adults (18–30 years old) planning to have children (N = 13,942; 8,880 identified as women; 5,062 identified as men) across 37 countries that varied in parental-leave policies and societal gender equality. In all countries, women intended to take longer leave than men. National parental-leave policies and women’s political representation partially explained cross-national variations in the gender gap. Gender gaps in leave intentions were paradoxically larger in countries with more gender-egalitarian parental-leave policies (i.e., longer leave available to both fathers and mothers). Interestingly, this cross-national variation in the gender gap was driven by cross-national variations in women’s (rather than men’s) leave intentions. Financially generous leave and gender-egalitarian policies (linked to men’s higher uptake in prior research) were not associated with leave intentions in men. Rather, men’s leave intentions were related to their individual gender attitudes. Leave intentions were inversely related to career ambitions. The potential for existing policies to foster gender equality in paid and unpaid work is discussed

Gender Gap in Parental Leave Intentions: Evidence from 37 Countries

Despite global commitments and efforts, a gender-based division of paid and unpaid work persists. To identify how psychological factors, national policies, and the broader sociocultural context contribute to this inequality, we assessed parental-leave intentions in young adults (18–30 years old) planning to have children (N = 13,942; 8,880 identified as women; 5,062 identified as men) across 37 countries that varied in parental-leave policies and societal gender equality. In all countries, women intended to take longer leave than men. National parental-leave policies and women’s political representation partially explained cross-national variations in the gender gap. Gender gaps in leave intentions were paradoxically larger in countries with more gender-egalitarian parental-leave policies (i.e., longer leave available to both fathers and mothers). Interestingly, this cross-national variation in the gender gap was driven by cross-national variations in women’s (rather than men’s) leave intentions. Financially generous leave and gender-egalitarian policies (linked to men’s higher uptake in prior research) were not associated with leave intentions in men. Rather, men’s leave intentions were related to their individual gender attitudes. Leave intentions were inversely related to career ambitions. The potential for existing policies to foster gender equality in paid and unpaid work is discussed.Gender Gap in Parental Leave Intentions: Evidence from 37 CountriespublishedVersio

Gender gap in parental leave intentions: Evidence from 37 countries

This is the final version. Available from Wiley via the DOI in this record. Despite global commitments and efforts, a gender-based division of paid and unpaid work persists. To identify how psychological factors, national policies, and the broader sociocultural context contribute to this inequality, we assessed parental-leave intentions in young adults (18–30years old) planning to have children (N = 13,942; 8,880 identified as women; 5,062 identified as men) across 37 countries that varied in parental-leave policies and societal gender equality. In all countries, women intended to take longer leave than men. National parental-leave policies and women’s political representation partially explained cross-national variations in the gender gap. Gender gaps in leave intentions were paradoxically larger in countries with more gender-egalitarian parental-leave policies (i.e., longer leave available to both fathers and mothers). Interestingly, this cross-national variation in the gender gap was driven by cross-national variations in women’s (rather than men’s) leave intentions. Financially generous leave and gender-egalitarian policies (linked to men’s higher uptake in prior research) were not associated with leave intentions in men. Rather, men’s leave intentions were related to their individual gender attitudes. Leave intentions were inversely related to career ambitions. The potential for existing policies to foster gender equality in paid and unpaid work is discussed.SSHRC Insight Development GrantSSHRC Insight GrantEconomic and Social Research CouncilState Research AgencyGuangdong 13th-five Philosophy and Social Science Planning ProjectNational Natural Science Foundation of ChinaSwiss National Science FoundationSwiss National Science FoundationCenter for Social Conflict and Cohesion StudiesCenter for Intercultural and Indigenous ResearchSSHRC Postdoctoral FellowshipSlovak Research and Development AgencySwiss National Science FoundationCanada Research ChairsSocial Sciences and Humanities Research Council of CanadaOntario Ministry of Research and InnovationHSE University, RFFaculty of Arts, Masaryk Universit

Orientamento sessuale e genitorialità: quale legame?

In Italy there is a heated debate about whether same-sex couples should raise children. In the public opinion, it is widespread the belief that a family, in order to be functional, must be based on the union (usually ratified by marriage) between two opposite sex people. However, it is overlooked that same-sex families are not a possible scenario, but rather a reality in our country, as well as in several other ones. Moreover, it is neglected the striking amount of empirical evidence that clearly shows how the gender of the parents is not related to the children’s development and well-being. The aim of this review is thus to reflect upon same-sex parenting starting from the psychosocial research studies conducted in this field. In particular, we will highlight the main psychological aspects involved in same-sex parenting as well as the main oppositions to the acknowledgement of these family configurations

Less human and help-worthy: Sexualization affects children\u2019s perceptions of and intentions toward bullied peers

In Western cultures, the sexualization of children has increased over the past decades. In two studies, we investigated the consequences of children\u2019s sexualization for their peers\u2019 willingness to provide help in a case of bullying. In both studies, children (total N = 396; ages 7 to 11 years) were randomly assigned to view either a sexualized or non-sexualized target and answered questions about the target\u2019s traits and treatment. Our findings provide evidence that early sexualization exposes preadolescent children to the dehumanizing consequences associated with adult women\u2019s sexualization. We found that sexualized targets were perceived as less than fully human in terms of both human nature and human uniqueness (Studies 1 and 2) and that, among girls, human nature ratings mediated the association between sexualization and reduced helping intentions toward both male (Study 2) and female targets (Studies 1 and 2)

Elective abortion predicts the dehumanization of women and men through the mediation of moral outrage

This research addresses the important issue of abortion, still controversial in Western countries. It provides a new perspective by examining attitudes not to abortion itself, but to women and their partners who decide to have an abortion. Through two experimental studies, we expected and found that the decision to abort increased moral outrage toward a woman (Study 1 and Study 2) and her male partner (Study 2). Moreover, we found that the decision to abort reduced a woman’s (Study 1 and Study 2) and man’s (Study 2) humanness through the mediation of elicited moral outrage. These findings clarify the continuing prevalence and perpetuation of disparaging attitudes toward those who seek an abortion, and suggest many directions for future research