ABSTRACT
The emergence of new parental leave schemes as a system to strengthen parent-child relationships has been the most important area of expansion in the Norwegian welfare state during the 1990s. The schemes have been extended to a total of 52 weeks with 80 per cent pay, and special rights have been granted to fathers.The intention behind this granting of special rights to fathers is to encourage the father’s contact with and care for their children by labelling working men as fathers. In this way, the state is acting on behalf of young children by trying to encourage fathers to take responsibility for the daily care of their children.
