Labor Market Consequences of Parental Leave Policies OECD Countries

Olivier Thevenon, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)
Anne Solaz, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)

Parental leave policies are aiming at reconciling care and work commitments of parents. For this reason, most OECD countries have progressively introduced entitlements for parents to leave work for a temporary after the birth of children. However, there is a long-standing debate about the gender consequences of the implementation of the parental leave policies. Though parental leave entitlements are gender-neutral, in practice, women are actually the main taker of leave after the birth of a child, for a period that varies from few days to several years across the OECD. The pro and contras of the development of parental leave policies crucially depends on their impact on female labour market outcomes and on gender equity. This paper assesses the influence the extension of child-related paid leave have had on the trends in female labour market outcomes and on the gender gap regarding employment rates, working hours and earnings over the period starting from 1970 to 2010.