In a first step, a more qualitative approach will analyse the independent variable, i.e., the different design options for parental leave, in greater depth. This will address the first sub-research question from the Subsection 1.2.1 in the introduction: How should a parental leave policy be designed to achieve maximal egalitarianism? In the following section, an analysis grid will be created based on Section 5.1 to record parental leave policies and their level of egalitarianism. Section 7.2 introduces two policy indices: the policy ideal index and the policy implementation index. In Chapter 9, this grid will be used to analyse the policies of the five selected countries. The purpose is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the policies in place in each country, which will then inform the subsequent analyses and results.