평등한 돌봄권 보장을 위한 자녀돌봄 시간정책 개선방안 연구(Ⅱ): 남성의 돌봄권 보장을 중심으로

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to formulate strategies for improving childcare time policies, ensuring paternal childcare rights. Men are regarded as equal caregivers alongside women in this study, asserting that childcare time policies should be grounded in a new fatherhood characterized by caring masculinity, departing from the traditional masculinity of the past. The study analyzes parental leave, paternity leave, and flexible work policies in South Korea, along with policy discourses on time policies for parents in Sweden and Germany. Utilizing data from a first-year survey, the study examines factors influencing parenting and the utilization of time support policies for fathers. To gain an in-depth understanding of the dynamics and challenges of paternal caregiving patterns and the utilization of time policies, focus group interviews (FGIs) were conducted with seven groups of fathers. Furthermore, to comprehend the institutional status and challenges of companies based on factors such as company size and location, FGIs were carried out with five groups of companies. Additionally, to address issues related to paternal caregiving in Korea and changes in social discourse over the past decade (May 2013 to April 2023), social big data was collected and analyzed to explore policy responses to these transformations. In the focus group interviews (FGI) targeting fathers, a range of themes emerged as follows: the coexistence of paternal caregiving and traditional fatherhood, fathers' active experiences and needs in childcare, challenges faced in paternal caregiving, diversity in spousal partnerships surrounding childcare, conflicts experienced between couples regarding childcare, and contrasting societal perceptions of paternal caregiving. Additionally, the interview content regarding men's experiences with time policies and their desires for support were also analyzed, encompassing fathers' experiences with parental leave, their desires for support, perceptions of flexible work arrangements, and the reasons of the low utilization rates of family caregiving leave. During the focus group interviews (FGIs) conducted with companies, various challenges related to organizational difficulties were revealed. These challenges encompassed issues such as a shortage of substitute workers due to institutional constraints, gaps in key personnel, financial burdens, fairness concerns among employees, and commuting challenges for employees in local small and medium-sized enterprises. Obstacles hindering the implementation of corporate time policies included negative perceptions of paternal caregiving among company executives and senior managers, low awareness of existing policies, and the low policy satisfaction regarding government support. The social big data analysis revealed gender differences in the discourse surrounding childcare. Social big data centered on men exhibited more pronounced changes compared to data focused on women. In this analysis, it is evident that men are engaging in discourse related to gender as they undergo the transition from traditional masculinity to paternal caregiving. The findings indicate a gradual acceptance of a caregiving masculinity among men. Additionally, the analysis has shown an increasing interest in various paternal childcare issues. From the research results, we derived fundamental directions and goals for childcare time policies to ensure fathers' caregiving rights as follows: 1) Ensuring the right to childcare as a fundamental social right for all parents and children, 2) Guaranteeing parents' time sovereignty concerning their work and childcare, 3) Formulating time policies based on the assumption of caring Masculinities. Building upon these foundational directions, the policy goals for childcare time policies are outlined as follows: 1) Ensuring the inclusiveness of childcare time policies, 2) Strengthening the enforcement of childcare time policies within companies, 3) Creating an supporting environment for paternal caregiving. Three policy tasks have been identified for each policy goal, and detailed implementation measures have been proposed to achieve each policy task.