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The presented empirical data analysis aims to shed light on the persistence of gender inequalities in sharing parenting responsibilities and addresses possible improvements for realising gender equality. In recent decades, family policies in the European Union have targeted the increase of men's shares in parental leave (= paternal leave) as well as women's participation in the labour market. Following the results of the Lisbon Treaty in 2000, many EU member states including Austria introduced non-transferable fathers' quotas in their regulations on parental leave. Subsequently, the share of men on parental leave increased. Nevertheless, both in number and duration, men's childcare allowance claims have remained lower than women's claims. This paper investigates shared parental leave practices based on 36 interviews with fathers on paternal leave, and 14 follow-up interviews with parents after paternal leave. The qualitative data reveal the challenges that arise when both parents are faced with reconciling work and family during and after parental leave. Although the data showed that progress has been made in reducing gender inequality, the interviews make clear that employers' attitudes perpetuate traditional gendered expectations of parental leave claims and still focus on images of a male breadwinner. Also, the distribution of gainful and family work reveals gender inequalities. The paper therefore discusses challenges that arise in the realisation of current gender and family policies in order to provide a basis for making changes that further enhance the opportunities for dual-career couples within the organisation of parental leave laws.

Biographical note: Gerlinde Mauerer ist Lektorin am Institut für Soziologie an der Universität Wien und in Fachhochschulstudiengängen sowie Mitarbeiterin im Verein »Frauenhetz«. Ihre Lehr- und Forschungsschwerpunkte sind Gesundheits- und Medizinsoziologie, Feministische Theorien/Gender Studies sowie Ethik/kritische Perspektivenbildung hinsichtlich der Anwendung Neuer Technologien im Gesundheitswesen.

The presented empirical data analysis aims to shed light on the persistence of gender inequalities in sharing parenting responsibilities and addresses possible improvements for realising gender equality. In recent decades, family policies in the European Union have targeted the increase of men's shares in parental leave (=paternal leave) as well as women's participation in the labour market. Following the results of the Lisbon Treaty in 2000, many EU member states including Austria introduced non-transferable fathers' quotas in their regulations on parental leave. Subsequently, the share of men on parental leave increased. Nevertheless, both in number and duration, men's childcare allowance claims have remained lower than women's claims. This paper investigates shared parental leave practices based on 36 interviews with fathers on paternal leave, and 14 follow-up interviews with parents after paternal leave. The qualitative data reveal the challenges that arise when both parents are faced with reconciling work and family during and after parental leave. Although the data showed that progress has been made in reducing gender inequality, the interviews make clear that employers' attitudes perpetuate traditional gendered expectations of parental leave claims and still focus on images of a male breadwinner. Also, the distribution of gainful and family work reveals gender inequalities. The paper therefore discusses challenges that arise in the realisation of current gender and family policies in order to provide a basis for making changes that further enhance the opportunities for dual-career couples within the organisation of parental leave laws.

Über Sinn und Widersinn exklusiver Frauen(bildungs)einrichtungen ist bereits viel nachgedacht und geschrieben worden. In der Frauenhetz in Wien wird dieser selbst geschaffene "Umstand" seit 15 Jahren gepflegt und "kultiviert". Bildungsveranstaltungen zu Themenschwerpunkten werden angeboten, erdacht und durchgeführt von einem Team so genannter "ehrenamtlicher Mitarbeiterinnen". Die Querverbindung von Feminismus und Bildung ist das Lebenselixier sowohl des Ortes Frauenhetz als auch seiner werktätigen Trägerinnen: wider einfache (Lebens-)Lösungen und für komplexe Denk- und Lebenszusammenhänge im Zeitalter der sekündlichen Modernisierung bei gleichzeitig versuchter Beibehaltung und Fortschreibung antiquierter geschlechtsspezifischer Rollenbilder. Dieses anachronistische Wechselverhältnis wird mit Fokus auf thematische Schwerpunkte (2006: "Frauen und Politik", 2007: "Geld und Geschlechterverhältnisse", 2008: "Frauengesundheit und feministische Theorie") in der Frauenhetz aufgezeigt und analysiert mit dem Bestreben, nachhaltige Veränderungen – individuell und kollektiv – anzuregen und umzusetzen. (DIPF/Orig.)

This paper, which is based on qualitative research conducted in Austria, focuses on current gender inequalities between parents in fulfilling their parental responsibilities, which means reconciling the responsibilities of childcare and earning a living. Austria is characterized by a substantial gender gap in men's and women's labor force participation and a system that provides particularly long parental leaves. These foster long-term gender inequalities in parents' careers and involvement in family life after their transition to parenthood. Against this background, we analyzed constructions of parental responsibilities parents face at their workplaces, and how these constructions shape parents' decisions on sharing parental responsibilities. The findings demonstrate the relevance of parental norms that comprise a father's main responsibility as breadwinner and a mother's primary responsibility as a caregiver, constructed and reproduced by parents' colleagues and employers. Consequently, for parents who try to share their breadwinning and caregiving in a non-normative (and more gender-equal) way, both parents are forced to find strategies in dealing with normative constructions. These strategies range from making a 'conscious decision', insisting on the original plan, and challenging predominant norms at workplaces, through quitting the job and looking for another employer, to modifying or giving up the originally planned arrangement.