Tools
ToolsMitchell, Gemma and Bendall, Charlotte (2023) The shared parental leave framework: Failing to fit working-class families? International Journal of Discrimination and the Law, 23 (4). pp. 299-320. ISSN 2047-9468
Preview |
PDF (bendall-mitchell-2023-the-shared-parental-leave-framework-failing-to-fit-working-class-families)
- Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (621kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Shared Parental Leave has the potential to tackle a traditional gendered binary of roles within the family, by encouraging more men to care. Such legal provisions can operate to shape behaviour, both in terms of what they permit practically, but also from a normative perspective, conveying ideas around the best way to perform ‘family.’ However, placing particular focus on the latter, we assert that Shared Parental Leave does not speak to working-class parents. We initially consider whether the ‘heteronormative’ family may, in itself, be a middle-class problem, before highlighting the incompatibility of legislative ambitions of ‘equal parenting’ with working-class ways of living. ‘Equal parenting,’ as embodied within the legislation, imposes ideals that sit at odds with working-class people’s attitudes, whilst assuming a two-parent family which is often incongruous with working-class family forms. Ultimately, we favour a more holistic approach towards breaking down ‘heteronormative’ notions of women’s and men’s roles, to enable people to make more meaningful choices about their lives that are not constrained by gender.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | family,care,class,employment,heteronormativity,parenting,sociology and political science,law ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3300/3312 |
| Faculty \ School: | Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Law |
| Related URLs: | |
| Depositing User: | LivePure Connector |
| Date Deposited: | 25 Nov 2023 03:19 |
| Last Modified: | 29 Nov 2023 03:16 |
| URI: | https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/93764 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/13582291231199371 |
Downloads
Downloads per month over past year
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |