ABSTRACT
The topic of this chapter is parental leave for fathers as an incentive to draw men towards life-courses with more care responsibilities. The “fathers’ quota”, an earmarked, non-transferable part of the leave, has existed in Norway for a generation, and similar schemes are currently being proposed by several countries as well as by the new EU Directive on parental leave. As the large majority of eligible fathers in Norway uses the fathers’ quota, the chapter first explores which design elements can account for the high usage. High take-up rate of parental leave by fathers is, however, but one indication that fathers are taking more care responsibility. Secondly, the chapter looks into elements that function counter to the objective of increased care involvement for fathers on leave. Based on interviews with 33 fathers who have used the quota, the analysis thus shows advantages and disadvantages of its design.
