Care at the Crossroads
How Policy Feedback Shaped Competing Feminist Advocacy for Parental Leave Reform in Spain
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6445484 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Manuel Alvariño (0000-0003-4988-5121, European University Institute, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2025-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Politics & Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1555-5623 • E-ISSN: 1747-1346 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/polp.70005 |
| OpenAlex | W4407536573 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 60 |
Growing attention to “degenderization” reforms that aim to encourage men's caregiving roles may generate opposition from groups advocating to prioritize mothers' right to care. This article seeks to understand the politics of degenderization through the case of Spain, the only state with equal non‐transferable parental leave entitlements for mothers and fathers. It argues that policy feedback effects from changes in family policy and gender representation shape feminist advocacy for leave reform. Methodologically, the study combines a historical review, document analysis, and interviews with policy makers and activists. Results show that the institutionalization of equality feminism, initially a reaction against Francoism, generated positive feedback effects. Namely, it fostered the emergence and success of the PPiiNA organization by making elites responsive to its advocacy for equal and non‐transferable parental leave. However, this provoked a negative feedback effect, mobilizing mothers' groups into a competing organization, named PETRA, that demands transferable or mother‐exclusive leave rights
Child care · Gender equality · Maternity leave · Parental leave · Political science · Sick leave · Sociology · Work (physics · Employment and Welfare Studies · Gender Studies · Law · Medicine · Nursing · Public Administration · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Work-Family Balance Challenges
Feminist Organizing
Reserving Time for Daddy
Labour market effects of parental leave in Europe
Trends towards de-gendering leave use in Spain and Portugal
Políticas de igualdad de género y sociales en España
The Family in the Mediterranean Welfare States
Power Resource Theory and the Welfare State
The Spanish Welfare State in European Context
Social Capitalism
Varieties of familialism
Who Cares, Too? Degenderization of Childcare Policies in Europe
Conflicting Policy Feedback
Gender and the Making of Welfare States
Policy Change and Partisan Politics
Gender Expertise in Public Policymaking
What Adult Worker Model? A Critical Look at Recent Social Policy Reform in Europe from a Gender and Family Perspective
The Ambivalent Familism of the Italian Welfare State
Family policy in high-income countries
A Southern European model? Gender regime change in Italy and Spain
Design Matters Most
The EU 's work‐life balance directive
From Defamilialization to Degenderization
Reconsidering Policy Feedback
Emergencia y configuración del asociacionismo familiar en España
Unequal benefits – diverging attitudes? Analysing the effects of an unequal expansion of childcare provision on attitudes towards maternal employment across 18 European countries
The Paradox of Gender Equality
When Effect Becomes Cause
Political Institutions and the Opinion–Policy Link
Explaining Morality Policy Coalitions in Spanish Parliamentary Votes
The rejection of authoritarian policy legacies
Policy Feedback and the Politics of Administration
The Question of Interest Group Influence
When Policies Undo Themselves
Women in Parliaments
Sexism and the Far‐Right Vote
Beyond Positive and Negative
The women’s cause in a field
Systematising Policy Learning
Limiting Policy Backlash
Gender and the Social Rights of Citizenship
Feminist Activism and the Politics of Reform
The Women's Movement Inside and Outside the State
Equality, Difference and Motherhood
The Civic Origins of Progressive Policy Change
Feminismo andaluz y maternidades
The use of triangulation in qualitative studies employing elite interviews
Partisan Politics and Feedback Effects
The Making of a Good Woman
Movements, Countermovements, and the Structure of Political Opportunity
Fathers on parental leave
Fathers' rights to paid parental leave in the Nordic countries
Collective identities, women's power resources, and the making of welfare states
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |