Caring is Sharing?: Couples navigating parental leave at the transition to parenthood

Through a longitudinal qualitative comparative analysis of mixed-sex parent couples in England who do (not) share parental leave post birth of their first child, Caring is Sharing? explores how these couples make parental leave decisions during their transition into parenthood, as well as how these decisions shape their work and family care practices during and after leave. The study shows that men's and women's visions and practices of family life are rooted in ideals of appropriate intimate relations and negotiated with real and imagined reactions from peers, wider family, and colleagues in a highly gendered UK. In so doing, this book highlights the intersections of intimacy and equality, contributing to debates around the stalled gender revolution and using UK parental leave policies to drive effective change in gender relations and family life.

Caring is Sharing? explores how mixed-sex couples make decisions around parental leave and how these decisions shape their work and family care practices. Drawing on a longitudinal study of couples in England, it shows that practices of couple intimacy influence the processes through which they enact divisions of parental leave and care.