Peter Moss is Emeritus Professor of Early Childhood Provision at UCL institute of Education, University College London, and co-founder of the international Network on Leave Policies and Research. Ann-Zofie Duvander is Professor of Demography at the Department of Sociology at Stockholm University and one of the coordinators of International Network on Leave Policies and Research.Alison Koslowski is Professor of Social Policy and Research Methods at the University of Edinburgh, and co-editor of the annual International Review on Leave Policies and Related Research.

“This is the finest collection on the topic of parental leave and related concepts available, provoking us to think beyond the realm of current policies and to construct more equitable and effective policies.” Marian Baird, University of Sydney

• 1. Introduction: much work still to do ~ Ann-Zofie Duvander, Alison Koslowski and Peter Moss;Part I: Recent developments and the politics of leave policy;2. Spain: leave policy in times of economic crisis ~ Gerardo Meil, Jesús Rogero-García and Pedro Romero-Balsas;3. Poland: leave policy and the process and goals of a major reform ~ Anna Kurowska;4. United Kingdom: leave policy and an attempt to take a new path ~ Peter Moss and Margaret O’Brien;5. Israel: leave policy, familialism and the neoliberal welfare state~Nadav Perez-Vaisvidovsky;6. Japan: leave policy and attempts to increase fathers’ take-up~Hideki Nakazato;7. China: leave and population policies ~ Shirley Gatenio Gabel, Wen-Jui Han and Xiaoran Wang;8. Mexico: leave policy, co-responsibility in childcare and informal employment~ Cándido Pérez-Hernández and Anna Escobedo;9. United States: leave policy, failure and potential ~ Gayle Kaufman;Part II: Some current issues in leave policy;10. What do people want? Leave policy preferences in different countries ~ Isabel Valarino;11. Gender equality: Parental Leave design and evaluating its effects on fathers’ participation ~ Ann-Zofie Duvander, Guðný Björk Eydal, Berit 12. Brandth, Ingólfur V. Gíslason, Johanna Lammi-Taskula and Tine Rostgaard;12. Flexibility: some consequences for fathers’ caregiving ~ Berit Brandth and Elin Kvande13. The workplace: challenges for fathers and their use of leave ~ Valérie Harvey and Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay;14. Care-work policies: conceptualising leave within a broader framework ~ Sara Mazzucchelli, Luca Pesenti and M.Letizia Bosoni;15. A social right? Access to leave and its relation to parents’ labour market position ~ Ivana Dobrotić and Sonja Blum;Part III: Future directions for leave policy;16. Universal Basic Income: what could it mean for gender equality in care work? ~ Alison Koslowski;17. The time credit system: the panacea for a life course approach? ~ Laura Merla and Fred Deven;18. Towards a multi-active society: daring to imagine a new work-life regime ~ Bernard Fusulier and Chantal Nicole-Drancourt;19. Reimagining Parental Leave: a conceptual ‘thought experiment’ ~Andrea Doucet, Lindsey McKay and Sophie Mathieu;20. Parental Leave and beyond: recent developments, current issues, future directions ~ Ann-Zofie Duvander, Alison Koslowski and Peter Moss.