Family Policy, Parental and Maternity Leave in the Context of Work-Life Balance and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men - Kocourková, Jiřina; Sokačová, Linda; Křížková, Alena; Maříková, Hana; Jachanová Doleželová, Alexandra; Machovcová, Kateřina (Gender Studies, o. p. s, 2010)
Family policy in the context of parenting and equal opportunities is a system of provisions, programs and policies sharing the common goal of supporting families and other types of partnerships. They are ﬁnancial, material and legislative instruments that inﬂuence people's decisions about family and having children. The foundation of family policy is the form of maternity and parental leave, possibly including the provision of father leave . The goal of family policy in regard to parenting should be the creation of a family-friendly environment in which people can freely decide whether they want to have children and how many. In such an environment people need not worry about their and their children's socioeconomic situation and about their future, and can therefore freely decide to have as many children as they really wish.