Photo: Maddy Savage/BBC
Sweden’s introduction of one of the world’s most generous state-funded shared parental leave 50 years ago has shifted the dynamic at home and affected Swedish workplace culture. These experiences offer lessons for other countries or workplaces who want to encourage parents of all genders to take more parental leave, researchers say. Parents in Sweden (including LGBTQ+, adoptive and single parents) are legally entitled to up to 480 days off work, and for the first 390 days, most can claim benefits equivalent to 80% of their salaries. In 1995, 30 days of leave were, for the first time, reserved specifically for each parent, and increased to 60 days in 2002 and 90 days in 2016. Researchers suggest that incentivized reforms, such as "use-it-or-lose-it" quotas, are needed to drive radical change. But changing the mindset from mother as natural primary caregiver to parents having equal responsibility does take time, they say.
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