Featuring contributions from leading international scholars of social policy, this dynamic Research Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of conceptual and methodological developments in leave policy research, as well as state-of-the-art findings on leave policy determinants and outcomes globally. The topic of inequality is placed at the centre of the Research Handbook, to strengthen the global debate and encourage broader thinking about the interconnections between leave policy design and social inequalities. Chapters illustrate the continued relevance of this correlation in the context of gendered care and employment practices, precarious, underinsured, and nonstandard employment, informal economies, migration, family changes, and growing financial strains for parents. Using parental leave policy as an empirical lens to further our understanding of the intersectional nature of social inequalities, the editors ultimately consider whether there is a case to reconfigure leave policy as a social right. This incisive Research Handbook will be essential reading for a multi-disciplinary audience of students and scholars of social policy, family studies, gender studies, sociology, social work, and public policy. Its evaluation of cutting-edge developments in leave policy will also benefit national and international policy makers, as well as HR leaders interested in parenting leave best practice.

This volume provides an international perspective on parental leave policies in different countries, goes beyond this to examine a range of issues in depth, and aims to stimulate thinking about possible futures and how policy might underpin them.