Introduction

This chapter analyses developments in leave policy between 2007 and 2017 in Spain, focusing on political debate, legislative measures and take-up rates. Most of this period was characterised by a severe economic crisis that ultimately prompted a political crisis, in which an imperfect two-party system gave way to a multi-party system with no party having a clear parliamentary majority. It was, then, a period of intense economic, political and social change, hence the relevance of analysing the extent to which leave policy occupied a significant place in public policy during this period.

Four objectives, not mutually exclusive, can be identified in leave policy: protection of mothers’ health after childbirth; protection of female employment; furtherance of gender equality; and supporting children's physical and educational development. Specific leaverelated measures vary depending on the weight given to each of these objectives in political discourse. While according to Borchorst (2009), three factors must be addressed to analyse why a public policy, such as leave, finds its way onto the political agenda: the characteristics and situation of the actors at any given time, opportunity structures, and the convergence between the two (timing). Opportunity structures have an economic dimension, for they depend on the availability of resources, as well as a political dimension, inasmuch as they vary with the discourse present in the public domain. They are also shaped by the direction taken by specific policies and conditioned by prior policy patterns. The opportunity structures in leave policy development in Spain during the period under consideration were clearly defined by the economic and social consequences of the economic crisis and by political cycles. The key actors were political parties of different persuasion and certain social movements.

The methodological strategy for the study on which this chapter is based consisted in analysing the political discourses of the national parties as expressed in their campaign platforms for the 2008, 2011, 2015 and 2016 elections and in the inter-party agreements after elections, as well as the legislation on leave and take-up rates during this period. The discourse, activity and proposals of the lobby that goes by the name ‘Platform for Equal and Non-Transferable Leave for Birth and Adoption’ ( Plataforma por Permisos Iguales e Intransferibles de Nacimiento y Adopción (PPiiNA)) are also addressed, and their possible political implications evaluated.