A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

“A good mother can't—But a good father should?” Cross‐ and within‐country differences in attitudes toward parents' full‐time work in 26 European countries




AuthorsSalin, Milla; Tammelin, Mia; Otonkorpi‐Lehtoranta, Katri; Isoniemi, Henna

PublisherWiley

Publication year2026

Journal: International Journal of Social Welfare

Article numbere70057

Volume35

Issue1

ISSN1369-6866

eISSN1468-2397

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.70057

Publication's open availability at the time of reportingOpen Access

Publication channel's open availability Partially Open Access publication channel

Web address https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.70057

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/508573650

Self-archived copy's licenceCC BY

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Abstract

Regardless of the rise of egalitarian parenting, maternal and paternal roles are subject to different expectations, shaped by cultural and institutional factors. We examine levels of (dis)approval of parents' full-time work in 26 European countries and ask: Do attitudes toward mothers' and fathers' full-time work vary across countries? What are the sociodemographic, cultural, and family policy-related institutional factors that explain these attitudes? To what extent can the gender arrangement framework help to understand differences in attitudes toward full-time working parents? Data from the 2018 European Social Survey was analyzed using cross-tabulation and multilevel analysis. Results reveal that the ideal of motherhood continues to be culturally more contested than that of fatherhood. Individual-level sociodemographic factors are more relevant to attitudes toward mothers' than to fathers' full-time work, while country-level factors connected to gender, work culture, and family policy are similar in their effects on attitudes toward mothers' and fathers' full-time work.


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Funding information in the publication
Open access publishing facilitated by Turun yliopisto, as part of the Wiley - FinELib agreement.


Last updated on 27/01/2026 10:23:51 AM