Paid parental leave and reconciliation of childcare and work in Lithuania
LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Apmokamos vaiko priežiūros atostogos; Vaikų priežiūros ir darbo suderinimas; Lietuva. Keywords: Paid parental leave; Reconciliation of childcare and work; Lithuania.
ENThe paid parental leave is one of the measures of social welfare encouraging the employment of parents (and especially mothers) through the paid leave to take care of children. This article explores how the paid parental leave system contributes to the reconciliation of childcare and work in Lithuania. The aim of this article is based on semi-structured interviews with parents of young children (N=19) is to analyse how parents of young children evaluate reconciliation of childcare and work during paid parental leave. The main findings of the research revealed that long-duration paid parental leave does not encourage parents to return to the labour market during parental leave. This study also showed that parents (especially mothers) possibilities to work during childcare is rather limited. This is mainly due to the still to a large extent dominant traditional gender, gender (un)equal leave policy designs, lack of childcare infrastructure for the youngest children. The findings of this study are expected to contribute to scientific debate on the role of paid parental leave and reconciliation of childcare and work. It also provides valuable insights to the discussion on implication of gender (un)equal leave policy designs and gender in(equalities) in employment. [From the publication]
