Cassandra Engeman. Photo: Magnus Dahl

Cassandra Engeman, research fellow at the Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI) at Stockholm University, has been named one of six finalists for the esteemed Rosabeth Moss Kanter International Award for Research Excellence in Work and Family. This recognition highlights Engeman's influential study, "Making parenting leave accessible to fathers: Political actors and new social rights, 1965–2016," published in Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society.

Engeman's research delves into the adoption of paternal leave rights across 22 countries over five decades, focusing on the political dynamics that shape these policies. Utilizing event history analysis, her study underscores the crucial role of leftist political parties and women lawmakers in expanding parenting leave policies, while also challenging prevailing assumptions about gender roles in policymaking.

Despite not winning the award, being selected from over 2,500 work-family articles published in 2023 is a significant achievement. Engeman has been invited to present her findings at a virtual seminar hosted by the Work and Family Researchers Network on September 13th, where she will join other leading scholars in the field.

– I feel honored. These are really great papers selected as finalists. It’s exciting to have people know about my research and think that it’s among the top six.

Engeman’s work is part of a broader scholarly debate on the role of political actors in shaping family policies, a discussion deeply rooted in the history of SOFI.

– With this paper, I’m engaging in a debate among social scientists: do parties matter to policies anymore? The classic theories that say yes have their roots in part here at SOFI, so it’s really cool to circle back to these theories and find more support for them, Engeman says.

More information:

Read the full paper here
 

The Rosabeth Moss Kanter International Award for Research Excellence in Work and Family

Cassandra Engeman's profile page