Caring is Sharing? : Couples navigating parental leave at the transition to parenthood

Abstract

Caring is Sharing? explores why and how mixed-sex couples make decisions around parental leave at the transition to parenthood, and how these decisions shape their work and family care practices during and after the leave period. It does this through a longitudinal qualitative comparative analysis of mixed-sex parent couples in England who do and do not share parental leave after the birth of their first child. The study shows that men and women’s visions and practices of family life are embedded in ideals of appropriate intimate relations, and negotiated with real and imagined reactions from peers, wider family and colleagues. These negotiations are often deeply emotional and shape how parents navigate the wider institutional and structural context in the UK, where parental leave policy, family and work norms are highly gendered. The book shows that practices of couple intimacy in the UK influence the imaginaries of new parents and the processes through which they enact divisions of parental leave and ultimately of care. In so doing, it highlights the intersections of intimacy and equality, contributing to debate around the ‘stalled’ gender revolution and what is needed if UK parental leave policy is to become an effective driver of change in gender relations and family life. Praise for Caring is Sharing? 'Katherine Twamley’s beautifully crafted book Caring is Sharing? makes significant contributions to scholarly and public understandings of parents’ relational negotiations and experiences of caring while sharing (or not sharing) parental leave time and the complexities of measuring policy effects. This book embodies Twamley’s outstanding qualitative research skills. I was moved by her analysis of narratives of care and intimacy and impressed by her stellar parental leave policy recommendations.' Andrea Doucet, Canada Research Chair in Gender, Work, and Care; Brock University; author of Do Men Mother? 'This is what excellent sociology looks like: Twamley presents us with an empirically grounded, robust analysis of a pressing social issue (the low take-up of ‘shared’ parental leave) and in the process does some deep conceptual work that really extends scholarship in the fields of family, gender and intimacy. Rich, poignant and beautifully readable, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.' Dr Charlotte Faircloth, UCL Social Research Institute 'A riveting good read, using state-of-the art scholarly research, to offer timely messages about gender equality, outcomes for heterosexual couples trying to combine infant care and paid employment, and "shared parental leave" policies. A must read for anyone with an interest in parenting, fairness and making a more liveable world.' Lynn Jamieson, University of Edinburgh 'This book presents a rich analysis that explores parents’ decisions about shared parental leave and how these decisions later affect their divisions of labour. Through detailed quotes and anecdotes, Dr Twamley reveals the promises and pitfalls of SPL – providing recommendations on how leave policies may better promote gender equality.' Richard J. Petts, Ball State University