Trajectories of State Regulation of Paternity in Latin American and its Implications for Gender Equality

Abstract

This article addresses the implications for gender equality of changes in the state regulation of fatherhood between 2000 and 2019. We departed from an already available typology that combines the biological, provider and caregiver dimensions, that we improved to distinguish between favorable and unfavorable scenarios for gender equality. We examine the expansionary years of social policy in Latin America (2000-2013) as well as the post-expansionary years (2014-2019) in four countries that in 2000 had contrasting regulations. The findings show that countries moved away from paternity regulation complementary to maternity. The implications for gender equality, however, depended on the consistent or hybrid nature of regulation among the three regulatory dimensions examined. Hybrid regulation asymmetrically accentuates maternal duties and / or paternal rights and makes it difficult to build parentalities that, recognizing the existence of the sexual division of labor, intend to transform them.