Research Projects
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Ongoing projects
TANDEM – In tandem or alone? An analysis of the joint vs. solo use of paternity leave entitlements and its impact on gender equality in Spain
Funded in 2025 by the Spanish State Research Agency (Agencia Estatal de Investigación)
TANDEM investigates whether fathers’ use of paternity leave on their own—rather than simultaneously with mothers—promotes a more equal division of care and reduces gender inequalities in the labor market. The project combines original longitudinal survey data from recent Spanish parents with large-scale survey experiments to track leave use, care practices, employment trajectories, workplace conditions, and gender norms over time. By generating robust, policy-relevant evidence on a largely unexplored form of caregiving, TANDEM addresses key gaps in existing research and informs the design of parental leave policies that foster gender equality and work–family balance.
Completed projects
FAIRLEAVE – Longer paternity leave, fairer labor markets? Evidence from the 2021 paternity leave reform in Spain
Funded in 2021 by the Spanish State Research Agency (Agencia Estatal de Investigación)
FAIRLEAVE examined whether the introduction of equal and non-transferable maternity and paternity leave entitlements in Spain contributed to reducing gender-based inequalities in the labour market and the division of care. The project collected two waves of a longitudinal survey among parents of children born before and after the 2021 reform. Findings were featured in two dedicated articles in El País (in 2025 and 2026), discussed in the Spanish Senate, and disseminated through Agenda Pública (in April and November, 2025). The project was also featured on the State Research Agency’s website.
FAIRLEAVE was a four-year project hosted by the Institute of Government and Public Policy (IGOP). More information is available on the project website.
POLGENDA – Gender-Based Public Policies and Labor Market Discrimination: A Field Experiment in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia
Funded in 2024 by the Institute of Women, part of the Ministry of Equality in Spain
POLGENDA offers causal evidence on the effectiveness—and potential unintended consequences—of gender-based public policies through a large-scale correspondence study. The project examines whether the extension of paternity leave entitlements affects hiring discrimination against recent and prospective parents, particularly fathers. It also tests whether the presence of registered company equality plans—following the 2021 requirement for Spanish firms to register these plans in the REGCON system—reduces discrimination or moderates the effects of family policies.
The project’s co-PI is Gabriela de Carvalho.