Interpreting Sex Differences in Parental Leave and VAB Uptake

This article examines observed differences between women and men in Swedish parental leave and temporary parental benefit (VAB) uptake during 2015–2024. Using specially produced aggregated register statistics from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, the study decomposes uptake by guardian sex and child–guardian address relation. The analysis distinguishes between aggregate differences, address-category composition, and within-category differences. The results show that the address-category composition available in the register data contributes little to explaining the observed aggregate difference. In the main child-weighted specification, the difference is attributed entirely to within-category differences, while a robustness check using recipients as the weighting base shows a smaller but non-zero between-category component. The study is descriptive and scope-bound. Address relation is treated as a register proxy rather than a direct measure of actual living arrangements, and the material includes only legal guardians. The article therefore contributes a structurally decomposed account of uptake patterns without making causal claims beyond the admissible range of the data.