Parental Leave System and Women's Economic Activities in Sweden

스웨덴의 부모보험제도와 여성의 경제활동

Parental leave in Sweden is a part of the health insurance in national social insurance system. It has two kinds of benefits. One is parental cash benefit paid for both husband and wife on the occasion of child birth, currently 450days for each child. The other is temporary parental cash benefit when a child under the age of twelve or a caretaker for him is illness, which is six months for a child a year. Parental insurance in Sweden permits parents to take care of their children just after birth at home with the amount of 80% of monthly income for 360 days and 60 Swedish krone each day for 90 days more. It also permits parents with children under the age of eight of part-time work and return to former job at full-time base when they want. It consequently encourages women's economic activity in her whole life and contributes to promotion of equality in sex roles between husband and wife. This insurance scheme is beneficient in that it enhances individual and family welfare and also secures labour force. This case study on Swedish parental insurance offers implication how to resolve the conflict between women's increased demand for economic activity and maternal role.