Book talk: Caring is Sharing? Couples navigating parental leave at the transition to parenthood
A BSA Families and Relationships Study Group Webinar
10 January 2025 (1-2pm GMT)
Online
About the Event
The BSA Families and Relationships team are delighted to be hosting a webinar with Professor Katherine Twamley, Professor of Sociology at the Social Research Institute, UCL. Katherine will be discussing her new book, Caring is Sharing?
Book talk: Caring is Sharing? Couples navigating parental leave at the transition to parenthood|
In this webinar, Katherine will discuss her new book, Caring is Sharing?, which explores why and how mixed-sex couples make decisions around parental leave at the transition to parenthood, and how these decisions shape their work and family care practices during and after the leave period. The book is based on a longitudinal qualitative comparative analysis of mixed-sex parent couples in the UK who do and do not share parental leave after the birth of their first child.
The talk will explore men and women’s visions and practices of family life and the ways these are embedded in broader UK structures, as well as ideals of appropriate intimate relations and negotiations with real and imagined reactions from those around them. The aim is to highlight the intersections of intimacy and equality, and to contribute to debates around the ‘stalled’ gender revolution and what is needed if UK parental leave policy is to become an effective driver of change in gender relations and family life.
Speaker bio: Katherine Twamley is Professor of Sociology at the Social Research Institute, UCL, and chair of the UCL Sociology Network. Katherine’s research focuses on gender, love and intimacy, social policy, and families, with a particular interest in qualitative longitudinal and comparative research. Her current project explores experiences and practices of night-time care in Finland, Spain and the UK: The Parental Night Shift: Gendered Inequalities in Night-time Care.
Registration
This event is free to attend but registration is required.