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The Nordic welfare model is known in the literature for its explicit support of the equal treatment of men and women in both family and gender equality policies as well as its achievements in these policy areas. Policy arguments have to promote gender equality and act in the best interest of the child, ensuring that the child access to care from both parents as well as to early childhood education and care. However, the knowledge of how the Nordic welfare states frame and promote active fatherhood remains fragmented.

The chapter asks whether the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) have developed similar policies on fatherhood or have taken different paths. Hence, the chapter examines three main policy areas affecting fatherhood: family law, family cash benefits and paid parental leave. Comparative perspective is applied and the chapter asks how the policies frame and promote active fatherhood while also looking into how fatherhood is shaped in interaction between policies, cultures and the daily practices of fathers.

Results show that while all Nordic governments promote a dual-earner/dual-carer social democratic welfare state model emphasizing the active participation of fathers in the care of their children, variations exist in policy and practices. Care policies and entitlements to a father quota of paid parental leave are a defining factor for enhancing fathers’ role in care of their children and the findings show that Nordic fathers are making use of their quota and gradually increasing their share in taking leave for the care of young children.

Using data from a qualitative longitudinal sample of 31 non-traditional fathers-to-be interviewed in 2011 and then again in 2013, when the child was about 18 months old, we examine the relationship between prenatal anticipation and the development of ‘positive paternal involvement’ (i.e. an engaged, accessible and responsible type of fatherhood). We expect differences with regard to the antenatal development of a non-normative father identity to explain variations in subsequent paternal involvement. While there might be – and there often is – a discrepancy between fathers’ prenatal intentions and actual practices after childbirth, anticipating concrete needs and actively foreseeing particular paid work adaptations favour the development of a positive paternal involvement. Our analysis reveals the importance of anticipation during pregnancy – that is, the development of an identity as a father and of explicit plans for employment adaptations – in facilitating men’s greater implication in care. The empirical findings also show that non-traditional gender attitudes and favourable working conditions facilitate fathers’ involvement, yet are not enough in themselves to guarantee the development of a positive type of fatherhood covering the three noted dimensions of care. Achieving the latter in Spain will likely require the encouragement of shared parenting responsibilities through normative changes in workplaces, the revision of parental leave policies and the integration of fathers-to-be in prenatal education classes. Our research contributes to shedding new light on the elements that favour a positive paternal involvement, which has the potential to enhance both children’s well-being and gender equality.

Realizing gender equality and parenthood still seems to be a contradictory endeavour. In consequence, family policies in Europe focus on paternal involvement and increasing women’s participation in the labour market. Nevertheless, consequences of gender pay gap on family arrangements still set limits to these policies.

This chapter reveals results of qualitative research on paternal leave practices and fathers’ involvement in the family in Austria. The empirical data set includes 36 guided interviews with fathers on paternal leave, 12 with female partners, 16 with human resources managers and 14 follow-up questionings with part-time working men and women. The research investigates effects of long-term leave arrangements on the distribution of family work, gainful employment and individual interests.

Mainly best practice models in undoing gender in family and work arrangements are explored. Subsequently, a high proportion of good earning fathers and couples with tertiary education are represented in the sample. Nevertheless, quantitative studies in Austria confirm higher proportions of fathers aged 40 plus on paternal leave. They take this decision mainly as a ‘tribute to the family’, once or twice in a life-time.

However, long-term care data on work-family-life balancing currently do not show significant changes in gendered patterns. By contrast, gender disparities are still reproduced in the labour market. Theoretically, the chapter shows the impact of gender studies, feminist theories and sociology of the family on realizing gender equality in private and public spheres. It outlines recommendations for family policy makers and for readers interested in relations between realizing work–life balance and gender budgeting.

This paper aims to examine the international challenges of fitting fathers into work‐family policies at a time of global economic turbulence.

The paper's design is a comparative policy analysis approach using international working time, paternity, maternity and parental leave data from selected rich, middle and poorer income nations. Leave policies are examined in relation to the place of fathers in the work‐family policy mix between 2010 and 2011.

Short well‐compensated paternity leave provision is emerging in poorer and middle income countries but none offer the range of father‐targeted parental leave innovation observed in some richer nations. A comparison of leave policy changes effecting fathers between 2010 and 2011 showed resilience in face of economic downturn particularly in European countries.

Global data on fathers' working hours, paternity leave and men's access to parental leave are difficult to access and more effort in data standardisation is required to build on this study.

Inter‐governmental bodies play an important role in the promotion of father‐friendly employment measures even in countries with strong male breadwinner cultures.

This policy analysis extends scholarship on how societies promote and regulate cultural constructions of fatherhood in families and in the workplace. It suggests that drivers to fit fathers into work‐family policies are mixed and do not easily map on to country classifications or policy regimes.

This paper explores service provision for young fathers through analysis of data from the three-year ESRC funded project Following Young Fathers. The purpose of this paper is to explore the idea that young fathers are a “hard to reach” group. It begins with a discussion of literature and research evidence on this theme. The empirical discussion draws on data collected in interviews and focus groups with practitioners, service managers and those working to develop and deliver family support services.

The ESRC Following Young Fathers study used qualitative longitudinal methods to research the perspectives of fathers under the age of 25, mapping the availability of services to support them and investigating professional and policy responses to their needs. The strand reported on here focussed on the perspectives of a range of practitioners, service managers and those involved in developing and commissioning services.

The research findings, and those of other projects discussed in the paper, challenge the idea that young fathers are “hard to reach”, suggesting that we should, conversely, consider that many services are actually hard to access. Thus, increasing young fathers’ engagement requires better understanding of their often complex needs and a reshaping of service design and delivery to account for them. The paper highlights how the configuration, funding and delivery of services can inhibit young fathers’ use of them, and identifies ways in which they could be made more accessible.

The ESRC Following Young Fathers Study filled an important gap in knowledge about the lives of young fathers, developing understandings of their experiences and support needs. The strand reported on here draws on research with practitioners to provide an in-depth discussion of how services currently support young fathers, and how they could be better configured to address their often complex and diverse needs.

This study aims to fulfill the need to explore positive side of work–family interface, especially in emerging economies like India. The authors assessed the relationships of individual (family role salience), organizational (work–family culture) and social (community support) antecedents to work-to-family enrichment. They also examined whether gender moderated the relationship between the three antecedents and work-to-family enrichment.

Data were collected on a questionnaire scale from 487 employees.

It has been found that family role salience, supportive work-family culture and community support were directly related to work-to-family enrichment. Gender did not influence the relationship between work-family culture and work-to-family enrichment. However, relationships between family role salience and work-to-family enrichment, and between community support and work-to-family enrichment, were stronger in case of the male employees. The evolving nature of gender and integration of work-family-community domain provide insights into managers and policymakers about the importance of family and community in the organizations.

The study builds a business case for facilitating a positive work-family culture in India for both male and female employees. The results point to the transitioning socio-cultural scenario of India, which advocates more similarities than differences in modern gender role expectations and identity. The current study emphasizes that while formulating policy, managers and policymakers should keep in mind evolving preferences of both the genders.

The research provides a holistic view of how individual-, organizational- and social-level factors may affect employees’ work–family enrichment in India. It also highlights the changing role of gender. Theoretical and practical limitations are also discussed.

Family policy is an area where policy transfer has garnered a lot of attention lately. A growing body of research demonstrates policymakers' interest in and willingness to adopt foreign family policies. However, previous studies have tended to neglect the second mechanism of policy transfer: resistance. This manuscript aims to address this research gap by exploring both the willingness and resistance to policy transfer in Czech and Korean childcare and leave policies.

This study employs a qualitative research design, incorporating structured expert interviews instrumental in in-depth thematic analysis.

The analysis shows that policymakers in both countries demonstrated interest and willingness to transfer family policies, albeit employing different strategies and to varying extents. Moreover, the two countries exhibited significant differences in resistance to family policy transfer, with resistance in the Czech Republic being more frequent and effective. Resistance is directed towards both forced and voluntary transfers, although it isn't always against transfers that require a paradigm change. Policy transfer and non-transfer can concurrently be perceived as threats.

The study concludes that integrating both policy transfer and resistance in the analyses helps to shed light on cross-national differences in family policy change and contributes to a more nuanced portrayal of the world of policy transfer in this policy field.