Dobrotić, I. and Arnalds, A.A. (eds) (2023), Parenting leave policy data gaps: a comparative critical
analysis, COST Action Parental Leave Policies and Social Sustainability (Sustainability@Leave), DOI:
10.31235/osf.io/8g25k. Available at: https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/8g25k
Abstract
The COST Action „Parental Leave Policies & Social Sustainability” (CA21150) aims to advance and disseminate knowledge about the significance of paid parental leave policies (PPL) for sustainable societies. When assessing whether leave policies are moving towards the social sustainability goals of gender equality, reducing poverty, and increasing health and well-being, it is important to have available data that allows for analysis of inequalities in eligibility, take-up, and outcomes of PPL. Therefore, Working Group 5 (WG5) of CA21150 critically assessed (1) existing comparative surveys, (2) publicly available comparative leave policy indicators databases, and (3) the availability of administrative data at the national level and examples of existing national surveys on PPL use. The aim is to identify PPL data gaps and facilitate thinking about solutions to overcome these gaps and develop recommendations for advancing the data. This report presents the findings of the critical assessment of data availability.