by Janna Wilhelm and Pia S. Schober
After the transition to parenthood and while children are young, couples’ relationship quality tends to decline. Recent conceptualisations of the stalled gender revolution have argued that gender inequality in the division of paid and domestic work within heterosexual couples are likely to contribute to declining relationship satisfaction, especially among women. At the same time, institutions have been pointed out as crucial in supporting the diffusion of gender egalitarian norms in order to move towards completing the gender revolution – which then might affect relationship satisfaction positively. In line with this argument, it has been shown across different countries that parents’ individual happiness heavily depends on the availability and generosity of parental leave policies. Also, leave policies that incentivise fathers’ uptake of leave and support mothers’ labour market return have been found to promote a more equal division of childcare and paid work and might thus play a particularly important role.
Continue reading “Shared leave, happier parent couples? Parental leave and relationship satisfaction in Germany”
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