The politics of parental leave policies addresses how and why, and by whom, particular policies are created and subsequently developed in particular countries. It examines the factors that bring about variations in leave policy, covering fifteen countries in Europe and beyond.

Introduction ~ Peter Moss and Sheila B. Kamerman; Australia: the difficult birth of paid maternity leave ~ Deborah Brennan; Canada and Quebec: two policies, one country ~ Andrea Doucet, Lindsey McKay and Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay; Czech Republic: normative or choice-oriented system? ~ JiA ina Kocourkova; Estonia: halfway from the Soviet Union to the Nordic countries ~ Marre Karu and Katre Pall; Finland: negotiating tripartite compromises ~ Johanna Lammi-Taskula and Pentti Takala; France: gender equality a pipe dream? ~ Jeanne Fagnani and Antoine Math; Germany: taking a Nordic turn? ~ Daniel Erler; Hungary and Slovenia: long leave or short? ~ Marta Korintus and Nada Stropnik; Iceland: from reluctance to fast-track engineering ~ Thorgerdur Einarsdottir and Gyda Margret Petursdottir; The Netherlands: bridging labour and care ~ Janneke Plantenga and Chantal Remery; Norway: the making of the father's quota ~ Berit Brandth and Elin Kvande; Portugal and Spain: two pathways in Southern Europe ~ Karin Wall and Anna Escobedo; Sweden: individualisation or free choice in parental leave ~ Anders Chronholm; The European Directive: making supra-national parent leave policy ~ Bernard Fusulier; Conclusion ~ Sheila B. Kamerman and Peter Moss.