Making Parental Leave Policies Work for Single Mothers: Lessons from Europe

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00027162221134445
• Published date: 01 July 2022
• Date: 01 July 2022
• Subject Matter: Childcare, Parental Leave, and Immigration Policies

ANNALS, AAPSS, 702, July 2022 129

DOI: 10.1177/00027162221134445

Making

Parental Leave

Policies Work

for Single

Mothers:

Lessons from

Europe

By

ALZBETA BARTOVA,

ADELINE OTTO,

and

WIM VAN LANCKER

1134445ANN THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYMAKING PARENTAL LEAVE POLICIES WORK FOR SINGLE MOTHERS

research-article2022

It is well documented that national parental leave poli-

cies encourage parents’ employment. Research on

parental leave, though, has generally failed to draw les-

sons on how leave policy affects the employment and

economic well-being of single parents. We examine the

extent to which parental leave policies support the

employment of single mothers with children under six

years old across twenty-seven European countries,

showing that single mothers are more likely to work

and to work longer hours if they are eligible for paren-

tal leave. For single mothers who were not working

before childbirth, eligibility for generous leave benefits

and longer parental leave are associated with better

employment outcomes after childbirth. We argue that

while parental leave sustains employment for working

single mothers, it might also facilitate entry into

employment for nonworking mothers.

Keywords: single mothers; maternal employment;

work-family reconciliation; parental leave;

family policy; EU-SILC

In many European countries, households

with limited access to (quality) employment

Alzbeta Bartova is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow at

the Centre for sociological research at KU Leuven,

Belgium. In her research, she focuses on child-related

leave policies in Europe and their effect on social and

gender inequality and sociodemographic outcomes.

Adeline Otto is a postdoctoral researcher at the KU

Leuven Centre for Sociological Research, Belgium. In

her research, she compares social policies across different

European countries, with a special focus on the income

distributional, employment, and working conditions

effects of social benefits. More recently, she also investi-

gates eco-social policies, social inequalities, and public

attitudes in the transition to carbon-neutral societies.

Wim Van Lancker is an Associate Professor of social

work and social policy, affiliated with the Centre for

Sociological Research, KU Leuven, Belgium. His

research focuses on the link between the design of fam-

ily and social policies and their outcomes in terms of

poverty, inequality, employment, and well-being.

Correspondence: alzbeta.bartova@kuleuven.be

130 THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY

often face a higher risk of poverty (Nieuwenhuis etal. 2020). Single mothers are

among the most vulnerable in this respect (Nieuwenhuis and Maldonado 2018),

which is reason for concern about their well-being and the well-being of their

children. To help address this poverty risk and to provide aid with access to

employment, traditional income protection policies in developed welfare states

have been complemented by “social investment” policies (Cantillon and Van

Lancker 2013; Morel, Palier, and Palme 2012). Social investment policy aims to

address new social risks from industrial changes and changing family structures

(Bonoli 2005) by developing human capital and supporting labor market partici-

pation. In family policy, the priorities of social investment are to enable mothers

to retain their position in the labor market, to help them better balance their

work-family responsibilities, and to reduce their risk of poverty and financial

stress through financial compensation for job interruption due to childbirth and

childcare. These work-family reconciliation policies (WFRP) refer to parental

leave, early childhood education and care (ECEC) services, and flexible employ-

ment.

Given the high risk of poverty among single parents, many scholars have tra-

ditionally focused on the poverty reduction and employment effects of state

income support such as family allowances and other direct transfers or tax advan-

tages to families with children (Rainwater and Smeeding 2004; Van Lancker,

Ghysels, and Cantillon 2015; Nieuwenhuis and Maldonado 2015). Fewer studies

investigate the effect of WFRP on mothers’ poverty and employment outcomes,

but the results of these studies show that WFRP are strongly associated with

higher levels of mothers’ employment, working hours, and wages (Gornick and

Meyers 2003; Pronzato 2009; Nieuwenhuis, Need, and Van Der Kolk 2012). In

other words, WFRP policies help reduce poverty and appear to be particularly

beneficial for single mothers (Maldonado and Nieuwenhuis 2015; Misra et al.

2012).

However, extant research has assumed that the employment effects of WFRP

are universal among single mothers. This ignores the actual eligibility require-

ments of these policies (Zagel and Van Lancker 2022; Bernardi and Mortelmans

2018) and variation in policy designs. Most research draws on macro-indicators

to measure the effects of policies, ignoring the fact that family policies are com-

plex and multilayered and that not everyone is entitled to policies under the same

conditions. Some single mothers may even be excluded from the state support

altogether if they do not meet the eligibility conditions of reconciliation policies,

for instance, because of their work status before childbirth (Marynissen, Wood,

and Neels 2021). The level of accessibility will then determine the potential of

the reconciliation policies to improve single mothers’ employment situation.

Hence, our research question: how are different characteristics of leave poli-

cies related to single mothers’ employment in Europe? We are interested in the

NOTE: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research

and innovation programme under Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 893008. This

study is based on data from Eurostat, the European Union Statistics on Income and Living

Conditions 2016–2019, https://doi.org/10.2907/EUSILC2004-2020V.1.