Lesbian couples with children have a more equal income trend

The income differences are smaller in lesbian couples than in comparable heterosexual couples after having children. Sweden has a high female labour force participation, combined with a very generous system for parental leave. For each child, parents can take at most 480 days of parental leave. 390 days out of these have a replacement rate that is proportional to each parent’s income and the replacement rate is at the basic level for the remaining 90 days. Out of the 390 days at a higher replacement rate, 60 days are tied to each parent. The rest of the days can be split in any way that the couple chooses.