Fathers’ leave increases attitudinal gender equality
Does fathers’ leave, a policy intervention that disrupts traditional gender roles, promote more gender-equitable attitudes? We examine this question by studying a policy reform in Estonia that tripled the length of fathers’ leave for children born on or after July 1, 2020. The reform promoted fathers as care givers – it offered both parents the opportunity to conceive of their social roles in a less traditional fashion and to thereby reassess traditional beliefs about the appropriate roles and essential traits of men and women.