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The Use of Paternity Leave by Migrants in Spain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2025

Pedro Romero-Balsas Open the ORCID record for Pedro Romero-Balsas [Opens in a new window] ,
Gerardo Meil  and
Jesús Rogero-García
Pedro Romero-Balsas*
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Gerardo Meil
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Jesús Rogero-García
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
*
Corresponding author: Pedro Romero-Balsas; Email: pedro.romero@uam.es
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Abstract

Studies focusing on how the migrant population understands and utilises family policies are scarce in Southern European countries. We focus on the use of paternity leave by American and European migrant fathers in Spain. This work is based on an online survey of parents (QUIDAN, 2021), which is nationally representative with a sample of 3100 respondents. We have conducted descriptive statistics and explanatory multivariate models. The main result shows that American-born (but not European) fathers take paid paternity leave less often than Spanish fathers. This outcome raises new questions about migrant parental roles and the shortcomings of public policies.

Keywords

migrantsfatherhoodchildcarepaternity leavework-life balance

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Type
Article
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Social Policy and Society , First View , pp. 1 - 13
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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