Fathers' Uptake of Parental leave in South Korea and Beyond: Determinants and Aftermaths

本研究以博士研究为基础，探讨父亲休育儿假对韩国内外的两性平等和工作家庭生活的作用。世界各国都在推进父亲休假制度，希望通过这一制度来解决家务和育儿分工中的两性不平等、生育率低下、工作家庭失衡等问题。我的博士研究为韩国的这些期望提供了证据，韩国的父亲休假率非常低，工作与家庭平衡和性别不平等程度很高。我发现几乎没有证据表明父亲的休假进一步平衡了家务和育儿的性别分工;父亲休假后生育意愿较低;父亲休假与工作家庭平衡之间的关系并不简单。这是因为，一方面，在韩国情况下，父亲休（长）假往往表明工作与家庭平衡不佳，另一方面，在休假期间变得以家庭为导向的父亲往往在返回工作岗位后很快恢复以工作为中心的生活方式。我认为，为了解决韩国长期存在的工作与家庭冲突，仅仅父亲休假是不够的。为了支持有年幼子女的双收入家庭的工作与家庭平衡，我呼吁进一步改革，一方面要提高父亲的休假率，另一方面要减少标准工时，提高育儿服务的质量。在ESRC奖学金期间，我将更新论文中未发表的章节，并从比较的角度展开研究。我将比较韩国父亲的育儿假吸收模式和结果与英国，德国和日本的父亲。这些国家在制定父亲休假政策方面都是落后者，但在增加父亲休假方面取得了不同程度的成功。比较的角度将提供重要的见解，以了解是什么驱动了不同国家之间的异质性，以及表现不佳的国家可以从更成功的案例中学到什么。我将以政策简报、专栏文章、演讲等形式，向学术界和非学术界的利益相关者，如政策智库、企业、民间社会行为者和公众分享我的研究成果，和小组会议，目的是提高人们对需要做些什么来更好地支持有幼儿的父亲和家庭的认识。我还将通过重新审视研究来收集更多的数据。我的博士项目的参与者，并与15-20名父亲以及他们的孩子（5岁及以上）进行后续采访。在这一轮额外的实地调查中收集的宝贵的纵向定性数据将使我能够跟踪父亲休假后的工作和家庭生活。与儿童的访谈将利用视觉方法，并生成家庭活动和关系的图画，以儿童的观点和父亲休育儿假的经历及其对儿童性别社会化和家庭生活的影响为中心。总之，我的研究将提高我们对父亲休育儿假对韩国及其他地区性别平等和家庭生活的影响的理解。它还将确定如何更好地支持有幼儿的父亲和家庭平衡工作和家庭生活。

My research aims to examine the role of fathers' uptake of parental leave for gender equality and work and family life in South Korea and beyond by building on my doctoral research.Fathers' leave is promoted in various countries around the world, often with the expectation that it will contribute to addressing problems such as gender inequality in the division of housework and childcare, low fertility, and work-family imbalance. My PhD research offers evidence against these expectations in South Korea, where the fathers' leave uptake rate is very low and levels of work-family balance and gender inequality high. I find little evidence that fathers' leave further equalises the gendered division of housework and childcare; fathers report lower fertility intentions after taking leave; and the relationship between fathers' uptake of leave and work-family balance is not straightforward. This is because, on one hand, fathers taking (long) leave often signals poor work-family balance in the Korean context, and on the other hand, fathers who become family-oriented during leave tend to quickly revert to work-centred lifestyles upon returning to work. I argue that in order to address the chronic work-family conflict in Korea, fathers' leave alone is not sufficient. I call for further reforms to support work-family balance of dual-earning couples with young children, on one hand by increasing fathers' leave uptake rate, but also by reducing standard working hours and improving the quality of childcare services.During the ESRC fellowship, I will update the unpublished chapter from my thesis and expand on my research with a comparative perspective. I will compare Korean fathers' parental leave uptake patterns and outcomes with that of British, German, and Japanese fathers. These countries have all been laggards in developing fathers' leave policies but have seen varying levels of success in increasing fathers' uptake. A comparative angle will provide important insights into what drives heterogeneities between different countries and what underperforming countries may learn from more successful cases. I will share the findings from my research to both academic audiences and non-academic stakeholders such as policy thinktanks, businesses, civil society actors, and the public in the form of policy briefs, op-eds, presentations, and panel sessions with the aim of raising awareness on what needs to be done to better support fathers and families with young children.I will also carry out additional data collection by revisiting the research participants from my doctoral project and conducting follow-up interviews with 15-20 fathers as well as their children (aged five and older). The valuable longitudinal qualitative data collected in this additional round of fieldwork will allow me to track fathers' work and family life following their leave. Interviews with children will utilise visual methods and generate drawings of family activities and relationships to centre children's perspectives and experiences of their fathers' uptake of leave and its impact on the children's gender socialisation and family life.Together, my research will enhance our understanding of the impact of fathers' uptake of parental leave on gender equality and family life in Korea and beyond. It will also identify how fathers and families with young children can be better supported to balance work and family life.