This study aims to deepen our understanding of both how men are affected by taking longer periods of parental leave, and the factors behind the decision of some men to take at least six consecutive months of leave. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five men living in Umeå, Sweden, who had been on parental leave for periods ranging from 6-15 months. Thematic analysis of these interviews revealed four themes: The female as the norm, gender-equal masculinity, the significance of paid work, and understanding provided by practical experience. The men in the study appeared to embody/perform a gender-equal masculinity, which differs from traditional masculinities. This deviant group challenges normative beliefs about how parenting should be done. Based on the four themes, above, a number of problem areas were identified: Firstly, even though a majority of the men seemed to pay less interest to their career than to their child, the paid-work norms affected the choices and possibilities for the men to take parental leave. The men feel that women, as the parent who carries the baby, are the major focus of parental education programs, and that different expectations exist formale and female parents. They experienced difficulty relating to other men in parental education  programs, and one man clearly expressed the discomfort of discussing parenting issues with other men. Breastfeeding also appeared to be problematic. This was partly because some of the men felt uncomfortable with the assumption of parental education programs that the woman would be the one to feed the baby, through breastfeeding, and partly because some of the men felt a sense of alienation from the fact that they themselves were incapable of breastfeeding. They felt a certain sadness that their children formed links to their mothers in this manner, which they were unable to. Finally, some of the men experienced difficulty in finding social groups, with the exception of the open preschools (öppna förskolan), while on parental leave. The paper discusses, and proposes suggestions to, the aforementioned problem areas, with the aim of contributing to regional development in Västerbotten,  Sweden.

Pregnant workers are considered at risk in the labor market and therefore need extra protection from employment discrimination . The purpose of this essay is to investigate what protection of pregnant workers against discrimination in employment situations and  if  there  is  no  corresponding  protection  for  female  workers  claim  the  right  to parental leave. The essay describes the national and EU rules on applications and practice, showing how pregnant women and workers on parental leave are treated in the labor market. Through Sweden's accession to the EU , we must apply the requirements nationally EU imposes on its member countries. The essay shows that pregnant employees have a strong legal protection from discrimination in employment , from both DL and by EU directives . Employers who deny workers employment because of pregnancy is guilty of direct discrimination on grounds of sex, because it is only women who may become pregnant. It is not important whether it is a temporary or permanent position . Employers must never deviate from the protection of pregnant workers in employment situations.  Furthermore, states the essay that male workers are protected from unfair treatment in relation to parental leave by 16 § föräldraledighetslagen. Male workers are not as strongly   protected   as   an   employer   is   allowed   to   derogate   from   disadvantaged prohibition in certain situations. / Gravida arbetstagare anses vara en riskgrupp på arbetsmarknaden och behöver därförextra skydd mot diskriminering i arbetslivet. Syftet med denna uppsats är att utreda vilket skydd gravida arbetstagare har mot diskriminering i anställningssituationer samt om det finns något motsvarande skydd för manliga arbetstagare gällande rätten tillföräldraledighet.Uppsatsen redovisar nationella och EU-­‐rättsliga bestämmelser på området samt praxis som visar hur gravida och föräldralediga arbetstagare behandlas på arbetsmarknaden. Genom Sveriges anslutning till EU måste vi nationellt tillämpa de krav EU ställer på sinamedlemsländer.Uppsatsen visar att gravida arbetstagare har ett starkt rättsligt skydd från diskriminering i arbetslivet, både från DL samt genom direktiv från EU. Arbetsgivare som nekar arbetstagare anställning på grund graviditet gör sig skyldig till direkt diskriminering på grund av kön, eftersom det endast är kvinnor som kan bli gravida. Det är inte av betydelse om det gäller en tidsbegränsad -­‐eller tillsvidareanställning. Arbetsgivare får aldrig frångå skyddet gravida arbetstagare har i anställningssituationer. Vidare fastslår uppsatsen att manliga arbetstagare skyddas mot missgynnande i samband med föräldraledighet genom 16 § föräldraledighetslagen. Manliga arbetstagare är dock inte lika starkt skyddad eftersom arbetsgivare tillåts att göra undantag frånmissgynnandeförbudet i vissa situationer.

The purpose of this paper is to create an understanding of the negotiation process behind the decision of who will stay at home with a sick child and to develop the knowledge of the mechanisms considered to affect the negotiation process, in particular, the mechanisms likely to contribute to an uneven use of care leave. In the study six interviews were conducted with three sets of parents. These interviews were then analysed with Janet Finch’s (1989) definition of negotiation of family responsibilities. The study finds that the negotiation on care leave is a result of the negotiation of the shared view of reality. This image is in turn influenced by a number of institutional aspects such as job design, relative resources, and the couple's ideological points. Previous studies that found that relative resources, converted to salary, affects the distribution greatest. Instead the results of this study points out that the nature of work is most important for how parents divide their care leave. If one parent have work that easier can be pushed forward or to be away from, the latter tend to be the one who stays at home. This arrangement, however, is affected by a number of other factors. For example, the ideas of a fair distribution of care leave counteract this tendency.

本研究旨在探討我國育嬰假之設立對於既存母職制度及女性就業處境產生了什麼樣的影響，並對我國育嬰留職停薪政策所產生的政策問題意涵加以分析討論。為有效達成上述目的，本研究採取深度訪談法，訪談 8 名申請育嬰留職停薪之職業婦女及 3 名事業單位人資代表，並將所得結果詮釋及賦與意義，歸納研究發現如下： 1. 請假者在申請意願方面，除了受到兩性薪資所得差異影響之外，在其潛意識裡仍有傳統性別分工的意識形態，使得她們被限制於家庭內部，扮演生育者和家庭照顧者的角色，育嬰假的設立反而使社會既存之母職制度更為鞏固，導致女性更加無法擺脫母親軌道的枷鎖。 2. 請假者在請假後必須面對一些請假前難以預測的困境，以及在請假之後將可能產生職場形象惡化的問題。因「育嬰假」、「女性」及「重家庭、輕工作之負面形象」三者產生緊密連結的情形下，將導致女性未來之就業處境更加不利，再次深陷女性於「次級勞動力」的污名中。 3. 育嬰假的設立反而使女性成為申請者的最佳代表，透過文獻探討及研究結果建議政府應加強政策的宣導，漸進地誘導男性參與家庭來改善，制定只能由父親申請的親職假，並應建全托育制度及規劃育嬰留職停薪的相關配套措施解決當前所面臨的問題。

abstract: When my attention was brought to the overwhelming lack of family policy support in the United States, my curiosity led me to look into what other industrialized nations are doing to support growing families and find out what policies and programs have been put in place to better facilitate the work-home balance. I first provide a brief background context of family policy in the United States, leading up to the development and implementation of our nation's parental leave legislation, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). I present the crucial concerns of this provision, as well as the effects that policy has on children's well-being. The second major part of this analysis deals with child care programs and the myriad challenges so many families encounter in this realm. Specifically addressed are the topics of affordability, accessibility and quality of child care found in the U.S. After an in-depth look at U.S. policies, I transition to a comparative analysis of parental leave and child care provision in a range of other nations in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), specifically Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden and Norway. I carefully chose these countries to offer a broad spectrum of family policies to compare to our own. I then return to a discussion of limitations of U.S. family policy and the values and ideology it represents, as well as the importance of strengthening such policies. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education 2012

This thesis deals with the lifestyles of mothers on parental leave, living in small municipalities in the Třeboň region. It maps various aspects of their lives such as leisure time, personal hobbies, activities with children, social contacts, the options for various activities at the place of residence, personal development, social support, and satisfaction with the current period of life. The thesis is divided into two parts a theoretical one and an empirical one. The theoretical part is divided into six areas the first one deals with the definition of the concept of family, with the ways families have evolved to their current form, and with its function. The second area defines parenting; it deals with the changes that childbirth brings to the family, with the needs of the child, with maternity and parental leave. The third area describes the ways of combining childcare and work; it focuses on the options of institutional care for children; it deals with gender stereotypes and division of work in the family. The fourth area defines the lifestyle and related concepts such as leisure time, ways of spending it and the lifestyles of mothers on parental leave. The fifth one defines a village, the Třeboň region; it deals with the social isolation of mothers living at villages. The sixth area describes the theoretical background; it focuses on the social support for mothers on parental leave and a socio-ecological model. At the beginning of the empirical part, the objectives of the thesis are defined. The cognitive objective is to find out how parenting affects the lifestyles of contemporary mothers on parental leave, living in small municipalities and what factors have an impact on spending their leisure time. The data was collected using the qualitative research strategy and the chosen technique was semi-structured interviews. The basic group consisted of mothers on parental leave, living in small municipalities boroughs Třeboň: Břilice, Přeseka, Stará Hlína, Nová Hlína, Holičky, and Branná. The research group members were selected using the 'snowball' method when the researcher selected one respondent and she recommended the others. A total of 15 women participated in the research. The records of the interviews were transcribed into text. In accordance with the research questions, ten categories were established: leisure time, hobbies before childbirth, hobbies after childbirth, social contacts, activities with children, options for activities in municipalities, deficiencies in municipalities, personal development, social support and satisfaction. The discussion compares the research results with the views of other authors dealing with the issue. The research showed that parenting affects fundamentally the lifestyles of mothers, especially in terms of leisure time, personal hobbies, self-fulfilment and personal development. In general, the conducted research makes it possible to put together a picture of ways mothers on parental leave live in small municipalities in the Třeboň region. It outlines the ways these women spend their leisure time and days with their families, what their needs, possibilities, wishes and relationships with the others are. Therefore, the objective of the thesis has been met. The thesis can be used as informative material for mothers-to-be, parents of small children, for students and, last but not least, for the staff at the public administrations of the municipalities concerned.

Women re-entering the labour market after parental leave represent one of the most vulnerable groups in the labour market. During parental leave, women frequently lose contact with their original employment. Depending on the length of parental leave, they fail, or have limited opportunities to develop their labour skills and knowledge. It happens very often, that they lose their jobs and face a very difficult life situation as they must find a new job after the termination of parental leave. This issue has been dealt with since 2004 at the regional level following the introduction of Act No. 435/2004 Coll., on employment, within the Active Employment Policy. Motivating or requalification programs focusing on this group represent an appropriate solution to this social problem. The situation of women returning to the labour market after parental leave is also the subject of the presented master thesis. The theoretical part contains historical review and describes the actual situation using an analysis of two regions and local services supporting the re-integration of women after their parental leave. The objective of the practical part is to identify key motivations for women taking part in the supporting programs during or after parental leave.

LL.D. / This thesis critically evaluates the position of pregnant women (and women who have recently given birth) in the context of South African Labour Law and social security law, from both a comparative and a South African perspective. The fact that women fall pregnant and give birth to children, while men do not, raises issues of theoretical and practical importance in regard to equality issues. Pregnancy has historically been both the cause of and the occasion for the exclusion of many women from the workplace because of the practical difficulties many women face in reconciling the demands of paid work with family responsibilities – although there is no logical reason why women’s giving birth to children necessarily means that they should have primary responsibility for childcare. The underlying premise which underpins the subject matter of this thesis is that pregnant women are unfairly discriminated against in the workplace. While it cannot be denied that men and women are different and that the biological fact of pregnancy is a state unique to women, this “difference” has resulted in gender discrimination, and, more germane to this thesis, in pregnancy discrimination in the jurisdictions to be considered, namely, the United Kingdom, the European Union, SADC and South Africa. This thesis concentrates on various issues pertaining to pregnancy and maternity protection and emphasises the seemingly irreconcilable dichotomy between the desire to recognise and accommodate women’s unique role as child-bearers and the desire to achieve parity between the sexes in regard to conditions of employment, remuneration and general benefits. The central dilemma is whether women can be treated as equal to men in regard to opportunities, entry to the workplace and remuneration, on the one hand, and yet be treated in a special way when it concerns childbearing and childrearing, on the other. In this thesis it is argued that men and women are different and that social justice cannot therefore be achieved by equal treatment. In facing this challenge, legislatures and courts have become ensnared in the dichotomy of equality and distinction, and the question considered here is whether South Africa is fulfilling its constitutional and international obligations regarding the equal treatment, and the granting to them of equal opportunities and reasonable accommodation. This thesis develops an appropriate and relevant paradigm for pregnant women in the workplace. It identifies and highlights the existing deficiencies and lacunae in the South African legal system inherent in both labour law and social security law, and develops proposals for the possible amendment of the existing legislative framework by drawing largely on international, supranational, foreign and regional jurisdictions and by critically evaluating the current South African maternity terrain, particularly in the light of South Africa’s developing constitutional jurisprudence.

This thesis is focused on women - mothers in the labour market. The aim of the thesis is to acquaint current situation in the labour market for women who wish to return to employment after maternity or parental leave. This thesis examines the posibility for women to harmonize employment with childcare. Theoretical knowledges are supported by research findings and my questionnaire survey, where women express their opinion on the situation in the Czech Republic and the attitude of employers of these women.

The employment status of persons caring for a child Abstract The content of this thesis is the employment status of persons caring for a child. It is a topic that affects most people, mainly women, as it is a very current issue with a high social importance. Parenthood and childcare have a significant impact on an employee's working life, as the position of these persons under labor law is considerably more difficult and their protection is therefore absolutely essential in this area. The thesis deals in a comprehensive way with individual areas of labor law that are affected by child care. The thesis is concentrating on all phases of child care and according to this the thesis is divided systematically into five chapters. The first chapter analyzes the current legislation not only on national but also international level as well as it analyzes the European Union law. The second chapter is devoted to the working conditions of women during their pregnancy, the third chapter deals with the time after childbirth, such as maternity, the institution of maternity leave and the corresponding benefit of social security law. The rights of the father of the child after childbirth are also taken into account. The fourth chapter deals with parental leave together with parental allowance. The final chapter deals with...