Dynamics of parental leave in Anglophone countries: the paradox of state expansion in liberal welfare regimes

This paper evaluates parental leave policies across six Anglophone countries (Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK and the USA) to assess system fit with a liberal welfare regime classification. The focus is on comparison within welfare regime classification (rather than between regimes), enabling complexity and variation to be explored. The comparative policy analysis uses national government and international Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development data sources with case studies of policy change between 2004 and 2014 in Australia and the UK. Evidence suggests that contrary to market-oriented, liberal welfare regime predictions, there has been an expanding role of the state in developing parental leave policies, extending their duration and increasing the payment level. With the exception of the USA, parental leave provision, predominately maternal in focus, is embedded in the state policies of contemporary liberal welfare countries.