The European Parenting Leave Policies (EPLP) dataset: Leave duration entitlements for 21 countries from 1970 to 2024

BACKGROUNDParenting leave policies shape how caregiving and paid work can be reconciled around the time of childbirth.They have important implications for fertility, employment, and gender equality.Still, there are limited quantitative cross-country data capturing longterm policy changes that impact how long parents can temporarily be away from work to care for their children, and how leave can be shared between them. OBJECTIVEThe European Parenting Leave Policies (EPLP) Dataset provides harmonised regulations on maternity, co-parent, paid parental, and job-protected leave across 21 European countries from 1970 to 2024.It focuses on policies that shape how long birth mothers and their co-parents can take leave. METHODSStatutory leave entitlements were compiled from national legal sources, official government publications, and secondary literature.We followed a consistent set of data collection rules to enable comparison across countries and over time.Because the dataset focuses on time away from the job, it considers only rights for employed parents.It includes 33 variables and also documents country-specific reform timelines.