"Acceptance of 50:50 parental leave is increasing - especially younger and more highly educated people, city dwellers, green voters and less religious people favour this model," says Anja Eder from the Institute of Sociology at the University of Graz. "Our analyses clearly show that it is not only these characteristics that are decisive, but also personal attitudes towards women's employment and the traditional breadwinner model." The representative population surveys have so far been conducted in 17 European countries and 5 countries outside Europe; in Austria, around 1100 people took part, who were selected at random.
Attitudes have changed - signs of (social) change?
While in countries such as France or the Netherlands, over 60 per cent are in favour of an equal division of parental leave if the parents' professional situation is comparable, the figure in Austria is currently only 41 per cent. "From a historical perspective, France played a major role in the women's movement," explains Petra Müller, who is working on the topic as a student assistant in her Master's degree programme. In Germany, the majority (59 per cent) still see the responsibility as lying predominantly with mothers. "However, attitudes have developed positively over the past ten years. In 2012, only 21 per cent were in favour of a 50:50 model," emphasise the researchers.
"But what we see," Eder continues, "is a clear gap between attitude and reality: 97 per cent of childcare allowance recipients in Austria are still mothers and only three per cent are fathers." More fathers are opting for parental leave than in the past - but usually only for a short time and despite studies pointing to the positive effects of involved fatherhood.
Progress has also been made when it comes to the question of who is better suited to childcare: 66 per cent of Austrians consider both parents to be equally suitable. Interestingly, women are more likely to trust men with this role than men themselves. And among 16 to 29-year-olds, this figure is already at 80 per cent.
When it comes to financial responsibility, the picture is divided: While in countries such as Denmark, France, Norway and Iceland, more than 80 per cent are in favour of an equal division of financing a family with a five-year-old child, in Austria the figure is only 45 per cent. The majority (54 per cent) still see the father as having the main responsibility for providing for the family or at least making a larger financial contribution.
"The idea of the male main earner and the female 'additional earner' is still deeply rooted in Austria. Even though some reforms are taking effect, it is clear that value orientations, gender role models and gender stereotypes are only changing slowly," emphasises the sociologist. "We are observing a change - but not a linear development towards equality."
Incidentally, Father's Day was first celebrated in Austria in 1956 - as a symbolic counterpart to Mother's Day. Today, it provides an opportunity to critically reflect on social developments and gender roles. The figures show: "There is still a lot to do - politically, economically and culturally."
International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) - Austrian data: https: //data.aussda.at/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.11587/RJU0KE
Data report:
Eder, A., Wardana, R., Beham-Rabanser, M., & Berghammer, C. (2024). Mothers between new roles and old responsibilities. Social Survey 2023 - Data Report 3. Zenodo. doi. org/10.5281/zenodo.14546838