Career effects of taking up parental leave. Evidence from a Dutch University

Abstract

In this paper we study the effect of parental leave on individual careers. We use individual registration data of a Dutch non-profit firm (Utrecht University). Our outcomes show that even with a short period of flexible leave there are career effects. More specifically, these effects are not unambiguously positive: slightly longer job durations are found, but also a lower probability of wage increases. It also appears that there are differences in effects between men and women: for men the effects appear to be smaller and of a more temporary character than for women. Apparently, even in a highly flexible system as the Dutch, with a high take up rate of men, the labour-care balance is still not gender neutral and not career neutral.