Factors affecting the length of unpaid parental leave in Spain

This study analyses the effect of working conditions, educational background, job mobility, grandparental availability and co-worker attitudes on the duration of unpaid parental leave in Spain. The length of parental leave is a key factor in both the work-family life balance and the furtherance of gender equality in childcare. The data for the analysis were drawn from a 2012 survey on the use of parental leave involving a nationwide sample of 4000 parents with at least one child under the age of 13. Multivariate models were built using logistic regression to analyse parental leave take-up and Cox proportional hazard regression to analyse leave duration (or survival) from a sub-sample of mothers. The results attest to the heavy impact of working conditions on the length of unpaid full- and part-time parental leave. The latter was observed to be taken also to adjust working hours to childcare demands when workplace flexibility or employer support for work-family balance was perceived to be lacking. Job security was found to be a primary determinant in the length of unpaid leave in Spain. The results suggest that longer full- but not part-time leave entails a substantial opportunity cost for the most highly qualified mothers.