Sweden, up until 2016, extended a generous parental leave offer to immigrants arriving with preschool-aged children. This policy sparked debates, with some speculating it might deter labour-market assimilation for newly-arrived migrant women. Consequently, in 2017, age-based restrictions on parental leave for immigrant children were introduced.
Despite these changes, it remains crucial to ascertain whether extended parental leave really impeded labour-market integration. Such insights can inform and shape future family and labour-market policies, particularly those aimed at immigrants. A clearer understanding of the actual impact of extended parental leave can guide discussions on its long-term ramifications.
In our recent study, we delved into the usage patterns of parental leave during the initial year of migration for women who arrived in Sweden with young children. We aimed to discern its subsequent impact on labour-market participation. We discovered that the use of parental leave has a limited impact on future labour-market activity. Interestingly, mothers who took parental leave part-time, or for a shorter period, exhibited a higher likelihood of earning an income or engaging in educational pursuits in the years that followed.
We interpret this to mean that short breaks from labour market participation don't necessarily hinder subsequent employment. In fact, part-time parental leave could offer immigrant mothers other ways of integration, such as through essential support and contacts, particularly if they spend this time on training or language acquisition.
Our analysis revealed a polarization in the use of parental leave, with a significant number of mothers refraining from it while some took quite long leaves. Surprisingly, native-born mothers showed high usage of parental leave together with some groups of mothers with origin in Syria, Somalia, and Thailand. We were however surprised that parental leave use plays such a limited role in future labor-market activity of newly arrived mothers.
Our finding that the use of parental leave play only a minimal role in determining future labor-market activity, but if all, mothers who used parental leave part-time were more likely to have an income or pursue education in the subsequent years. This questions the idea that generous family policy may postpone labor market integration, especially if it can be combined with labor market activities.