In 2022, a new parental leave system with equal leave rights for
parents saw daylight in Finland. The road towards this reform was
not entirely uncontroversial, and one stumbling block was different
interpretations of the meaning of gender equality. This article con
tributes to the literature by analysing how seven political parties in
Finland politicised the idea of gender equality and leave quotas
during the 2010s. We argue that ideological factors delayed
a reform of the leave system in a more gender-equal way, since left-
wing parties not only put more emphasis on gender equality and
state-regulated leave quotas for fathers than conservatives, they
also did so for somewhat different reasons connected with the
Social Investment paradigm. Moreover, although the conservatives
did warm up to the idea of gender equality on a general level
during this period, and some of them started to support the use
of leave quotas, providing some of the consensus needed for the
2021 reform, this did not alter their traditional views on the family
and gender roles. Instead, the policy idea of leave quotas was
reframed as an instrumental tool to achieve higher (maternal)
employment, and only secondarily as a tool for gender equality.