Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T07:50:36.290Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Explaining New Patterns in Family Leave Policies in Latin America: Competing Visions and Facilitating Institutions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 May 2021

Marisa Hawley Open the ORCID record for Marisa Hawley [Opens in a new window]  and
Matthew E. Carnes Open the ORCID record for Matthew E. Carnes [Opens in a new window]
Marisa Hawley
Affiliation:
Marisa Hawley is a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate and a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, Washington, DC, USA. Mah287@georgetown.edu.
Matthew E. Carnes
Affiliation:
Matthew E. Carnes, S.J. is an associate professor of government and director of the Center for Latin American Studies at Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA. Matthew.Carnes@georgetown.edu.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Recent years have seen the rapid passage and modification of family leave policies in Latin America, a surprising trend, given the region’s historically conservative gender norms. This article argues that the rise of new paternity leave policies—as well as the modifications to longer-standing maternity leave policies—reflects contending visions of gender and the family, mediated by the institutions and actors that populate the region’s political landscape. Using an original dataset of family policy measures, this article finds that the factors facilitating the adoption of new, vanguard policies, such as paternity leave, function in ways different from those that shape the expansion of longer-standing policies, including maternity leave.

Keywords

Family policymaternity leavepaternity leavegenderlaborsocial policy
Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Politics and Society , Volume 63 , Issue 2 , May 2021 , pp. 100 - 121
Copyright
© The Authors, 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the University of Miami

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Conflict of interest: We, Marisa Hawley and Matthew Carnes, declare none.

References

Aristegui Noticias . 2015. Así quedó la reforma laboral. October 1. http://aristeguinoticias.com/0110/mexico/asi-quedo-la-reforma-laboral/ Google Scholar
Blofield, Merike, and Franzoni, Juliana Martínez. 2014. Maternalism, Co-responsibility, and Social Equity: A Typology of Work-Family Policies. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State and Society 22, 1 (June): 38–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blofield, Merike, and Franzoni, Juliana Martínez. 2015. Are Governments Catching Up? Work Family-Policy and Inequality in Latin America. Discussion Paper No. 7. In Progress of the World’s Women 2015–2016. United Nations.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blofield, Merike, and Michael, Touchton. 2020. Moving Away from Maternalism: The Politics of Parental Leave Reforms in Latin America. Comparative Politics 53, 1 (October): 1–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.5129/001041520X15893977405559 Google Scholar
Bolivia. 2012a. Decreto Supremo No. 1212. Gaceta oficial del estado plurinacional de Bolivia. La Paz, May 1. http://www.gacetaoficialdebolivia.gob.bo/normas/buscar/1212 Google Scholar
Bolivia. 2012b. Promulgan decreto que otorga tolerancia de tres días a padres de familia por paternidad. Viceministerio de Comunicación del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia. La Paz, May 1. https://comunicacion.gob.bo/?q=20120501/promulgan-decreto-queotorga-tolerancia-de-tres-d%C3%AD-padres-de-familia-por-paternidad Google Scholar
Bonoli, Giuliano. 2005. The Politics of the New Social Policies: Providing Coverage Against New Social Risks in Mature Welfare States. Policy & Politics 33, 3 (July): 431–49. https://doi.org/10.1332/0305573054325765 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bradshaw, Jonathan, and Naomi, Finch. 2002. A Comparison of Child Benefit Packages in 22 Countries. Research Report 174. London: Research carried out by the University of York on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions. https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20080305204612/http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rrep174.aspGoogle Scholar
Brazil. 2008. Lei No. 11.770. Presidência da República Federativa do Brasil. September 9. http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2007-2010/2008/lei/l11770.htm Google Scholar
Bruning, Gwennaële, and Janneke, Plantenga. 1999. Parental Leave and Equal Opportunities: Experiences in Eight European Countries. Journal of European Social Policy 3, 9: 195–209. https://doi.org/10.1177/095892879900900301 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carey, John M., and Shugart, Matthew Soberg. 1998. Calling Out the Tanks or Filling Out the Forms? In Executive Decree Authority, ed. Carey, and Shugart, New York: Cambridge University Press. 1–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheibub, José Antonio, Elkins, Zachary, and Ginsburg, Tom. 2011. Latin American Presidentialism in Comparative and Historical Perspective. Public Law and Legal Theory Working Paper 361. Chicago Unbound. University of Chicago Law School. https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/public_law_and_legal_theory/177/ Google Scholar
Colombia. 2002. Ley 755: por la cual se modifica el parágrafo del artículo 236 del Código Sustantivo del Trabajo—Ley María. El Congreso de Colombia. Diario Oficial 44.878. Bogotá, July 23. http://svrpubindc.imprenta.gov.co/diario/index.xhtml;jsessionid=c558ae3c392cc22bfb17573408eb Google Scholar
Colombia. 2009. Sentencia C-174 de 2009. Corte Constitucional de Colombia. Demanda de inconstitucionalidad contra el artículo 1º (parcial) de la Ley 755 de 2002, Por la cual se modifica el parágrafo del artículo 236 del Código Sustantivo del Trabajo. https://www.corteconstitucional.gov.co/relatoria/2009/C-174-09.htm Google Scholar
Colombia. 2011. Ley No. 1468. National Congress of Colombia. June 30. Bogotá. https://www.funcionpublica.gov.co/eva/gestornormativo/norma.php?i=43212 Google Scholar
Colombia. 2017. Ley No. 1822: Por medio de la cual se incentiva la adecuada atención y cuidado de la primer infancia, se modifican los artículos 236 y 239 del código sustantivo del trabajo y se dictan otras disposiciones. National Congress of Colombia. January 4. Bogotá. https://www.funcionpublica.gov.co Google Scholar
Costa, Rica. 2013. Resolución No. 2013 010042. Sala Constitucional de la Corte Suprema de Justicia. https://nexuspj.poder-judicial.go.cr/document/sen-1-0007-587462 Google Scholar
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). 2011. Childcare and Parental Leave. Challenges: Newsletter on Progress Towards the Millennium Development Goals from a Child Rights Perspective No. 12 (July). Santiago, Chile: ECLAC/United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).Google Scholar
The Economist . 2015. A Father’s Place. May 16. www.economist.com/news/international/21651203-men-have-long-been-discouraged-playing-equal-role-home-last-starting Google Scholar
Esping-Andersen, Gosta. 1990. Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Esping-Andersen, Gosta. 1999. Social Foundations of Postindustrial Economies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fink, Simon. 2009. Churches as Societal Veto Players: Religious Influence in Actor-Centered Theories of Policy-Making. West European Politics 32, 1: 77–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gómez, Lady. 2012. Venezuela’s New Labour Law: Promoting Mutual Parental Responsibility. Venezuela Analysis, April 30. https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/6961 Google Scholar
Gupta, Nabanita Datta, Smith, Nina, and Verner, Mette. 2006. Child Care and Parental Leave in the Nordic Countries: A Model to Aspire To? IZA Discussion Paper 2014. IZA Institute of Economics. https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/2014/child-care-and-parental-leave-in-the-nordic-countries-a-model-to-aspire-to Google Scholar
Hagopian, Frances. 2006. Latin American Catholicism in an Age of Religious and Political Pluralism: A Framework for Analysis. Working Paper No. 332 (December). Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame. https://kellogg.nd.edu/sites/default/files/old_files/documents/332_0.pdf Google Scholar
Häusermann, Silja. 2006. Changing Coalitions in Social Policy Reforms: The Politics of New Social Needs and Demands. Journal of European Social Policy 16, 1 (February): 5–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hochschild, Arlie Russell. 1995. The Culture of Politics: Traditional, Postmodern, Cold Modern and Warm Modern Ideals of Care. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State and Society 2, 3: 331–46. https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/2.3.331 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huber, Evelyne, and John, Stephens. 2001. Development and Crisis of the Welfare State: Parties and Policies in the Global Markets. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huber, Evelyne, and John, Stephens 2012. Democracy and the Left: Social Policy and Inequality in Latin America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huerta, María del Carmen, Adema, Willem, Baxter, Jennifer, Han, Wen-Jui, Lausten, Mette, Lee, RaeHyuck, Waldfogel, Jane. 2013. Fathers’ Leave, Fathers’ Involvement and Child Development: Are They Related? Evidence from Four OECD Countries. OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers No. 140. Paris: OECD Publishing, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/fathers-leave-fathers-involvement-and-child-development_5k4dlw9w6czq-en Google Scholar
International Labor Organization (ILO). 2009. World of Work Report 2009: The Global Jobs Crisis and Beyond. Geneva: International Institute for Labor Studies, ILO. http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_118384.pdf Google Scholar
International Labor Organization (ILO). 2014. Maternity and Paternity at Work: Law and Practice Across the World. Geneva: ILO.Google Scholar
Kitschelt, Herbert. 1994. The Transformation of European Social Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kittilson, Miki. 2008. Representing Women: The Adoption of Family Leave in Comparative Perspective. Journal of Politics 70, 2: 323–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Korpi, Walter. 2000. Faces of Inequality: Gender, Class, and Patterns of Inequalities in Different Types of Welfare States. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society 7, 2: 127–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Macaulay, Fiona. 2006. Gender Politics in Brazil and Chile: The Roles of Parties in National and Local Policymaking. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marshall, Monty, and Keith, Jaggers. 2007. Polity IV Project. Political Regime Characteristics and Transitions, 1800–2006. Vienna, VA: Center for Systemic Peace. October 24. https://home.bi.no/a0110709/PolityIV_manual.pdf.Google Scholar
Molyneux, Maxine. 2007. Change and Continuity in Social Protection in Latin America: Mothers at the Service of the State? Gender and Development Program, Paper No. 1 (May). Geneva: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development. https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/45959/001.pdf Google Scholar
Molyneux, Maxine, and Elizabeth, Dore. 2000. Hidden Histories of Gender and the State in Latin America. Durham: Duke University Press.Google Scholar
Mosley, Paul, Harrigan, Jane, and Toye, John. 1991. Aid and Power: The World Bank and Policy-Based Lending. Volume 1, Analysis and Policy Proposals. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Murillo, María Victoria, Oliveros, Virginia, and Vaishnav, Milan. 2011. Economic Constraints and Presidential Agency. In The Resurgence of the Latin American Left, ed. Levitsky, Steven and Roberts, Kenneth. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 52–70.Google Scholar
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 2019. Trends in Parental Leave Policies Since 1970. OECD Social Policy Division. Paris: OECD. https://www.oecd.org/els/family/PF2_5_Trends_in_leave_entitlements_around_childbirth.pdf Google Scholar
OECD/ECLAC. 2014. Multi-dimensional Review of Uruguay. Volume 1, Initial Assessment. Paris: OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264209459-en Google Scholar
Panama. 2017. Ejecutivo sancionó ley de Licencia Paternidad. Panama City: Ministerio de Trabajo y Desarrollo, May 25. https://www.mitradel.gob.pa/ejecutivo-sanciono-ley-licencia-paternidad Google Scholar
Pargendler, Mariana, and Salama, Bruno M.. 2015. Law and Economics in the Civil Law World: The Case of Brazilian Courts. Tulane Law Review 90: 430–70. FGV Direito SP Research Paper Series No. 117. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2580490 Google Scholar
Paz Campuzano, Óscar. 2017. Día del Padre: licencia paterna en debate. El Comercio (Peru), June 18. https://elcomercio.pe/lima/dia-padre-licencia-paterna-debate-435479 Google Scholar
Pereira, Carlos, Power, Timothy J., and Rennó, Lucio. 2005. Under What Conditions Do Presidents Resort to Decree Power? Theory and Evidence from the Brazilian Case. Journal of Politics 67, 1 (February): 178–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pérez, Cándido. 2017. Mexico Country Note. In International Review of Leave Policies and Related Research 2017, ed. Blum, Sonja, Koslowski, Alison, and Moss, Peter. International Network on Leave Policies and Research. http://www.leavenetwork.org/lp_and_r_reports/ Google Scholar
Peru. 2010. Decreto Supremo No. 014-2010-TR: Reglamento de la ley No. 29409, ley que concede el derecho de licencia por paternidad a los trabajadores de las actividad pública y privada (2010). Presidente de la República del Perú. December. http://www2.congreso.gob.pe/sicr/cendocbib/con4_uibd.nsf/7A2388973C82F5D2052581A600722263/$FILE/2.Reglamento_Ley_N%C2%BA_29409,Ley-que-concede-derecho-licencia-paternidad-trabajadores-actividad-p%C3%BAblica-privada.pdf Google Scholar
Peru. 2016. Decreto Supremo No. 002-2016-TR: Decreto Supremo que adecua las normas reglamentarias que regulan el descanso por maternidad y el pago del subsidio por maternidad a las disposiciones de la Ley N° 30367, Ley que protege a la madre trabajadora contra el despido arbitrario y prolonga su periodo de descanso. Presidente de la República del Perú. https://cdn.www.gob.pe/uploads/document/file/1039918/002-2016-TR.pdf Google Scholar
Piscopo, Jennifer. 2014. Beyond Hearth and Home: Female Legislators, Feminist Policy Change and Substantive Representation in Mexico. Revista Uruguaya de Ciencia Política 23, 2: 87–110.Google Scholar
Plantenga, Janneke, and Chantal, Remery. 2005. Reconciliation of Work and Private Life: A Comparative Review of Thirty European Countries. European Commission Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. http://www.cecot.org/harmonitzacio/documentacio/estudi%20CE.pdf Google Scholar
Ray, Rebecca, Gornick, Janet C., and Schmitt, John. 2008 (rev. June 2009). Parental Leave Policies in 21 Countries: Assessing Generosity and Gender Equality. Washington, DC: Center for Economic and Policy Research. http://cepr.net/documents/publications/parental_2008_09.pdf Google Scholar
La República (Peru). 2016. Proponen ampliación de la licencia laboral por paternidad de 4 a15 días. June 14. https://www.pressreader.com/peru/per%C3%BA-la-rep%C3%BAblica/20160614/282114930854799 Google Scholar
Reyes, José Carlos. 2017. Licencia por paternidad: Fuerza Popular propone ampliarla de cuatro a diez días. Gestion, May 19. https://gestion.pe/empleo-management/licencia-paternidad-fuerza-popular-propone-ampliarla-cuatro-diez-dias-219022.Google Scholar
Rodríguez, Enríquez, Corina. 2012. Work-Family Balance Issues in Latin America: A Roadmap to National Care Systems. Paper prepared for the Expert Group meeting on Good Practices in Family Policy Making: Family Policy Development, Monitoring, and Implementation: Lessons Learnt. New York: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, May 15–17. https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/family/docs/egm12/PAPER-RODRIQUEZENRIQUEZ.pdf Google Scholar
Salido, Gaby. 2019. El permiso de paternidad, de cinco a 45 días también para casos de adopción: Salido Magos. September 15. https://gabysalido.mx/prensa/el-permiso-depaternidad-de-cinco-a-45-dias-tambien-para-casos-de-adopcion-salido-magos/ Google Scholar
Schwindt-Bayer, Leslie. 2006. Female Legislators and the Promotion of Women, Children, and Family Policies in Latin America. Background paper prepared for UNICEF Report The State of the World’s Children 2007, December.Google Scholar
Schwindt-Bayer, Leslie. 2010. Political Power and Women’s Representation in Latin America. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seligson, Mitchell A. 2007. The Rise of Populism and the Left in Latin America. Journal of Democracy 18, 3 (July): 81–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Singham, Nate. 2015. Bolivia: Fighting Patriarchy. Latin American Bureau, March 9. https://lab.org.uk/bolivia-fighting-patriarchy/ Google Scholar
Soares, Eduardo. 2008. Brazil: Paternity Leave Expanded to 15 Days. Global Legal Monitor, Library of Congress. September 3. http://www.loc.gov/law/foreign-news/article/brazil-paternity-leave-expanded-to-15-days/ Google Scholar
Socio-Economic Database for Latin America and the Caribbean (SEDLAC). 2020. Database. http://www.cedlas.econo.unlp.edu.ar/wp/en/estadisticas/sedlac. Accessed May 31, 2020.Google Scholar
Staab, Silke. 2012. Maternalism, Male-Breadwinner Bias, and Market Reform: Historical Legacies and Current Reforms in Chilean Social Policy. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society 19, 3: 299–332. https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/jxs010 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, Ed. 2016. Brazil: Law Quadruples Some Paternity Leave. Bloomberg Bureau of National Affairs, February 11. https://www.bna.com/brazil-law-quadruples-n57982067214/ Google Scholar
Thomas, Gwynn. 2011. Michelle Bachelet’s Liderazgo Femenino (Feminine Leadership): Redefining Political Leadership in Chile’s 2005 Presidential Campaign. International Feminist Journal of Politics 13, 1: 63–82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14616742.2011.534662 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ultima Hora . 2013. Uruguay aprueba ampliar el permiso por paternidad de tres a trece días. October 24. http://www.ultimahora.com/uruguay-aprueba-ampliar-el-permiso-paternidad-tres-trece-dias-n734427.html Google Scholar
Universo Online . 2014. Cresce número de mulheres eleitas no Congresso, mas fatia ainda é de só 10%. October 6. https://eleicoes.uol.com.br/2014/noticias/2014/10/06/cresce-numero-de-mulheres-eleitas-no-congresso-mas-fatia-ainda-e-de-so-10.htm Google Scholar
Valenzuela, J. Samuel. 2006. Demografía familiar y desarrollo: Chile y Suecia desde 1914. In El eslabón perdido: familia, modernización y bienestar en Chile, ed. Valenzuela, Eugenio Tironi Barrios, and Timothy R. Scully. Santiago: Taurus.Google Scholar
Vásquez, Walter. 2013. Redistribución de la riqueza impulsa la economía. La Razon, January 23. https://www.la-razon.com/lr-article/redistribucion-de-la-riqueza-impulsa-la-economia/ Venezuela. 2007. Ley para protección de las familias, la maternidad y la paternidad. Gaceta Oficial de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela No. 38.773. September 29.Google Scholar
Vásquez, Walter. 2012. Ley Orgánica del Trabajo, los Trabajadores y las Trabajadoras, Título VI: Protección de la familia en el proceso social de trabajo. Gaceta Oficial No. 6.076 Extraordinario.Google Scholar
Viñas, Silvia. 2014. Latin Women Take the Helm. World Policy Journal 31, 1: 39–47. March 1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williamson, Sarah, and Carnes, Matthew E.. 2013. Partisanship, Christianity, and Women in the Legislature: Determinants of Parental Leave Policy in U.S. States. Social Science Quarterly 94, 4: 1084–1101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Bank. 2017. Proportion of Seats Held by Women in National Parliaments. Data from Inter-Parliamentary Union. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SG.GEN.PARL.ZS Google Scholar
Wormald, Benjamin. 2014. Religion in Latin America: Widespread Change in a Historically Catholic Region. Report. November 13. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. https://www.pewforum.org/2014/11/13/religion-in-latin-america/ Google Scholar