tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/paid-parental-leave-5438/articlesPaid parental leave – The Conversation2023-08-15T18:56:17Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2116032023-08-15T18:56:17Z2023-08-15T18:56:17ZLabour’s promise of paid parental leave for partners is ‘the right thing to do’ – but NZ could still do better<p>By introducing four weeks of <a href="https://www.labour.org.nz/news-release_paid_parental_leave_partners">paid parental leave for partners</a> if re-elected, the Labour Party would move New Zealand out of an undesirable and <a href="https://www.oecd.org/els/soc/PF2_1_Parental_leave_systems.pdf">tiny club of OECD nations</a>. Only the United States and Israel would then not offer something similar after the birth (or adoption) of a baby.</p>
<p>But that’s not to say New Zealand might become a world leader in paid parental leave. In fact, the promised four weeks would move New Zealand into the <a href="https://www.oecd.org/els/soc/PF2_1_Parental_leave_systems.pdf">middle of the OECD rankings</a> on length of leave available.</p>
<p>Furthermore, the proposed reimbursement rate would pay the leave at below the current minimum wage. This puts New Zealand back towards the bottom third of the OECD when it comes to the average number of weeks a parental partner’s actual income is replaced under such a scheme.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, the prime minister was correct to <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/election-2023-labours-offer-for-new-parents-is-four-weeks-paid-leave-for-partners-on-top-of-paid-parental-leave/">note the policy</a> was the “right thing to do”, and that it will ease the financial burden on families that would otherwise take unpaid leave.</p>
<p>Partner’s leave will also provide crucial support during those early days with a newborn, when extra hands and sleep are in short supply – especially for those families for whom taking unpaid leave would be prohibitively expensive. Whether it is adequate is another question, however.</p>
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<h2>Duration and remuneration matter</h2>
<p>The research evidence suggests a myriad social and economic benefits for families. Reserved leave quotas for fathers have been shown to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pam.22030">increase the likelihood</a> of men <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13668803.2017.1346586">taking any parental leave</a> after the birth of a child. (Most research in this area focuses just on new fathers, rather than a wider sample of non-birth parents.)</p>
<p>Importantly, paid paternity leave is also associated with <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/sjoe.12113">better outcomes</a> for the child, such as their cognitive development, both in the short term and later in life. </p>
<p>Such policies have also been shown to improve <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jomf.12507">mothers’ incomes</a> and career trajectories over time, because they can return to work sooner or take on hours they might not have been able to. Overall, families are financially better off in the long term.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/fewer-than-1-of-new-zealand-men-take-paid-parental-leave-would-offering-them-more-to-stay-at-home-help-180777">Fewer than 1% of New Zealand men take paid parental leave – would offering them more to stay at home help?</a>
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<p>However, many of these studies – while extremely rigorous and using statistical methods that can make the case for a causal impact – are using data from countries with much more generous partner and parental leave systems than New Zealand’s, even if Labour gets to introduce its new policy.</p>
<p>Positive effects of partner and paternal leave have been found in countries where the leave duration is longer. Wage reimbursement is also much closer to the parents’ actual work income – up to a certain amount, but typically capped at a rate that is higher than the median wage.</p>
<p>In Norway, for example, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/sjoe.12113">new parents are entitled</a> to nearly one year of paid parental leave, at full wage compensation (capped, but still at a very high amount). Those 49 weeks’ leave can be shared however parents like.</p>
<p>A similar scheme exists in Denmark and Sweden. To encourage non-birth partners to take up parental leave, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0049089X11001153">some countries</a> operate a “bonus” <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0958928712440201">leave scheme</a>: if partners take leave, mothers or the birth parent qualify to take even more.</p>
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<h2>Baby steps</h2>
<p>There may not be the political or public appetite in New Zealand to move closer to the gold standard of the Scandinavian models. But less generous entitlements risk being still too expensive for families to take up. And this threatens the universality of the policy – available to everyone, regardless of income.</p>
<p>The proposed reimbursement rate would mean many New Zealand partners who take up the leave would receive an income below the minimum wage. While this is technically better than unpaid leave, it amounts to an effective pay cut many families will not be able to afford – especially during a cost of living crisis.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/fatherhood-changes-mens-brains-according-to-before-and-after-mri-scans-191999">Fatherhood changes men's brains, according to before-and-after MRI scans</a>
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<p>There may be unintended consequences, too. Families that could always afford to take unpaid parental leave will be disproportionately more likely to take advantage of the new allowance compared to lower- and middle-income families. And a number of families will be omitted in the first place, such as children with sole parents.</p>
<p>None of this is to suggest paid partner leave is not a necessary and important step towards better supporting families during a crucial period in their lives, one that has been shown to be critically important for child development and shaping longer term wellbeing.</p>
<p>If implemented, it would help ensure New Zealand doesn’t continue to fall behind other nations in its commitment to strong families. But the scope and generosity of the policy on offer falls well short of the evidence-backed benefits that appropriately funded partner leave can have for children and their families.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211603/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate C. Prickett is the Director of the Roy McKenzie Centre for the Study of Families and Children, which has previously received research funding from the Ministry of Social Development and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.</span></em></p>All the evidence points to paid partner’s leave having many benefits for children and families – but Labour’s promise falls short on time and money.Kate C. Prickett, Director of the Roy McKenzie Centre for the Study of Families and Children, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1927362022-11-09T19:00:18Z2022-11-09T19:00:18ZWe’re putting gender at the heart of the Fair Work Act, but there’s still no compassionate leave for abortions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494332/original/file-20221109-16-z9h3ht.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=287%2C257%2C3706%2C2065&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>This year’s landmark decision of the US Supreme Court to overturn the constitutional right to abortion established by the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/25/briefing/roe-v-wade-struck-down-explained.html">Roe versus Wade</a> judgement in 1973 leaves Australian women better off than those in the United States.</p>
<p>Abortion has been decriminalised in every Australian state and territory, and following amendments to the <a href="https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/senate-passes-two-days-of-paid-miscarriage-leave-for-parents/">Fair Work Act</a> last year, eligible women are entitled to two days of paid compassionate leave for miscarriages.</p>
<p>But the Act defines miscarriage very narrowly as the “<a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/taxonomy/term/530">spontaneous</a>” loss of an embryo or foetus – a definition that suggests other terminations will be excluded on the ground they are “non-spontaneous”.</p>
<p>Distinguishing between “spontaneous” and “non-spontaneous” pregnancy loss makes some types of loss look more worthy of support than others.</p>
<p>Labor says it wants to put <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-to-introduce-ir-bill-with-pledge-to-get-wages-moving-20221018-p5bqr3.html">gender equity</a> at the heart of the Fair Work Act. This gap in the Act deals with a sensitive topic, but remaining silent on it will disadvantage some workers, perhaps as many as <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jan.15226">one quarter</a> of Australian women.</p>
<h2>‘Non-spontaneous’ as worthy as spontaneous</h2>
<p>Ending a pregnancy for personal or socio-economic reasons rather than because of an act of nature or a medical necessity does not make the physical and emotional toll any less.</p>
<p>Ignoring or minimising the grief, trauma and stigma that comes with an abortion threatens not only to undermine the reproductive rights of Australians but also to entrench gender inequality in the workplace.</p>
<p>It was the same in New Zealand when it introduced paid bereavement leave for miscarriage several months before Australia in March last year.</p>
<p>New Zealand National Party member of parliament Erica Stanford said that while she supported the bill, the grief and anguish and trauma experienced during an abortion and the fact that it was not recognised in the bill made her feel “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/25/new-zealand-miscarriages-stillbirths-bereavement-leave">uncomfortable – personally uncomfortable</a>”.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/balancing-work-and-fertility-isnt-easy-but-reproductive-leave-can-help-171497">Balancing work and fertility isn't easy – but reproductive leave can help</a>
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<p>A growing number of <a href="https://www.womenshealth.com.au/these-progressive-aussie-companies-offer-paid-leave-after-pregnancy-loss/">Australian companies</a> and the <a href="https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/nsw-government-to-introduce-paid-miscarriage-and-stillbirth-leave-in-public-sector/">NSW government</a> are also introducing paid leave for pregnancy loss, but it appears to be similarly limited.</p>
<p>The Australian Council of Trades Unions and the Health and Community Services Union are campaigning for a broader <a href="https://www.reproductivehealthleave.com.au/faq">reproductive health and wellbeing</a> leave that encompasses abortions as well as conditions including menstrual pain, perimenopause and menopause, endometriosis, infertility treatments, vasectomy, hysterectomy and gender transition.</p>
<h2>Portland, Oregon shows the way</h2>
<p>Perhaps surprisingly, there’s a model for how to make it work in the United States. </p>
<p>Prior to the overturning of Roe versus Wade, the city of Portland, Oregon made headlines in 2021 for being the <a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2021/10/25/portland-provides-bereavement-leave-for-employees-after-abortion/">first in the country</a> to introduce paid bereavement leave for public sector employees for miscarriage, stillbirth and other types of pregnancy loss, including abortion. </p>
<p>The move was <a href="https://blogs.bmj.com/bmjsrh/2021/11/11/abortion-bereavement-leave-is-part-of-abortion-care/">praised</a> by reproductive health policy experts for its capacity to destigmatise abortion and recognise the important role employers have to play in caring for their workers.</p>
<p>Australia has the potential to be the next world leader in gender work policy, building on our initial success in recognising pregnancy loss.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192736/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australia’s Fair Work Act recognises “spontaneous” but not “non-spontaneous” pregnancy loss.Sydney Colussi, University of SydneyElizabeth Hill, Associate Professor Political Economy and Deputy Director, The Gender Equality in Working Life Research Initiative, University of SydneyMarian Baird, Professor of Employment Relations, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1931002022-10-26T06:58:37Z2022-10-26T06:58:37ZWomen’s budget headed in the right direction, but more needed<p>The Labor federal government promised it would make women central to its first budget.</p>
<p>The inclusion of an evidence-based <a href="https://budget.gov.au/2022-23-october/content/womens-statement/download/womens_budget_statement_2022-23.pdf">women’s budget statement</a> shows a greater awareness of the systemic challenges, particularly to women’s economic security. The statement sets out a number of systemic issues that must be addressed to ensure women achieve economic equality.</p>
<p>But the policies still need work.</p>
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<h2>The headline items: childcare and paid parental leave</h2>
<p>In a year when dealing with inflation has taken priority over supporting low-income Australians, the headline items are increased access to childcare and paid parental leave. </p>
<p>The childcare measures are fulfilling an election promise. <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r6741">Legislation</a> is already before parliament to increase the rate of the childcare subsidy from 85% to 90% for a family with one child where the family income is less than $80,000.</p>
<p>The changes to paid parental leave were also <a href="https://theconversation.com/paid-parental-leave-extended-to-26-weeks-by-2026-with-pressure-on-dads-to-share-more-early-caring-192506">announced</a> ahead of the budget. This proposal will increase paid parental leave from 20 to 26 weeks, with an extra two weeks being available each year from July 1 2023 to July 1 2026. The Morrison government’s March 2022 budget proposed some changes, but the increased time is a new measure.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/paid-parental-leave-extended-to-26-weeks-by-2026-with-pressure-on-dads-to-share-more-early-caring-192506">Paid parental leave extended to 26 weeks by 2026, with pressure on dads to share more early caring</a>
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<p>The current government has acknowledged that the former government’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-the-budget-good-for-women-the-paid-parental-leave-change-takes-us-backwards-and-childcare-costs-were-ignored-179766">proposals</a> for flexibility would reinforce stereotypical gender roles. It has stated there will be a use-it-or-lose-it allocation for dads and partners, but has not identified how the increased allocation will be shared between parents. This has been referred to the <a href="https://ministers.pmc.gov.au/gallagher/2022/inaugural-womens-economic-equality-taskforce-meet-first-time">Womens’ Economic Equality Taskforce</a> for further advice.</p>
<p>While the use-it-or-lose-it component is important to promote shared parenting, the rate of payment, at minimum wage, is a further deterrent to dads taking advantage of the scheme. There’s no proposal to increase the rate of payment to a rate closer to replacement wage, and again there’s no commitment to pay superannuation on paid parental leave.</p>
<p>The changes to childcare and paid parental leave are welcomed as necessary to <a href="https://theconversation.com/employment-gaps-cause-career-trouble-especially-for-former-stay-at-home-parents-130501">retain women’s attachment</a> to the paid labour market during the critical period of family formation: following childbirth and before the children attend school.</p>
<p>However, there’s little support for other families in this budget, particularly those families who will be doing it tough as inflation and interest rate rises erode their take-home income. </p>
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<p>About $1.7 billion has been allocated to women’s safety over four years. Respect@Work initiatives have been allocated $42.5m, new “working women’s centres” have been allocated $32m, and there’s $65m for consent and respectful relationships education in schools.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-national-plan-aims-to-end-violence-against-women-and-children-in-one-generation-can-it-succeed-192497">National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children</a> has been allocated $1.3 billion. The detail of these measures is still thin as the underlying action plan is under development, but prevention measures must be included.</p>
<p>Funding for the national plan illustrates the approach the government has taken to reviewing programs from the previous government with funding from those measures being redirected to new, “better targeted” commitments.</p>
<h2>A first step</h2>
<p>The women’s budget statement piloted <a href="https://theconversation.com/each-budget-used-to-have-a-gender-impact-statement-we-need-it-back-144849">gender impact analysis</a> to identify policies that affect women negatively compared to men. Gender impact analysis is an important step toward <a href="https://theconversation.com/applying-a-gender-lens-to-the-budget-is-not-about-pitting-women-against-men-160261">gender responsive budgeting</a>. It can identify how mainstream programs can be designed to be inclusive and take account of the needs of women, as well as where a gender specific program is needed.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/applying-a-gender-lens-to-the-budget-need-not-pit-women-against-men-160261">Applying a gender lens to the budget need not pit women against men</a>
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<p>The Office for Women piloted gender impact analysis in several policy areas including the housing needs of women, apprenticeship and training data, and the child care reforms. </p>
<p>For example, gender impact analysis was applied when writing the government submission to the Fair Work Commission for the Aged Care Work Value Case.</p>
<p>This budget goes on to include gender equity as an object of the Fair Work Act, and to establish Pay Equity and Care and Community Sector expert panels at the Fair Work Commission. This will focus attention on the issues around pay rates in the care sector which has a <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/publications/gender-segregation-in-australias-workforce">predominantly female workforce</a>. Improving pay rates will also increase the rate of male employment resulting in a more gender balanced workforce.</p>
<p>However, the matter of how to fund higher wages in the care sector hasn’t been specifically addressed in this budget. While the service provider will pay the increased wages cost, this will create a cost pressure point in the system. </p>
<p>Budget Paper 1 included a statement on “<a href="https://budget.gov.au/2022-23-october/content/bp1/download/bp1_bs-4.pdf">Measuring What Matters</a>”, which discusses how to develop a framework for wellbeing budgeting. It’s important gender indicators are taken into account in developing the wellbeing budget framework, but the work on gender responsive budgeting must also continue.</p>
<p>The women’s budget is headed in the right direction, but there needs to be capacity building across the public service to ensure systemic issues are addressed across portfolios.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193100/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Hodgson has received funding from the ARC, AHURI and CPA Australia. Helen is the Chair of the Social Policy Committee and a Director of the National Foundation for Australian Women (NFAW) and on the Gender and Career Progression Committee of CPA Australia (WA Division). Helen was a Member of the WA Legislative Council in WA from 1997 to 2001, elected as an Australian Democrat. She is not a current member of any political party. She is a Registered Tax Agent and a member of the SMSF Association, CPA Australia and The Tax Institute. </span></em></p>The inclusion of an evidence-based women’s budget statement shows a greater awareness of the systemic challenges to women’s economic security.Helen Hodgson, Professor, Curtin Law School and Curtin Business School, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1925062022-10-14T11:27:14Z2022-10-14T11:27:14ZPaid parental leave extended to 26 weeks by 2026, with pressure on dads to share more early caring<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489791/original/file-20221014-20-3gudu0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C3%2C1064%2C619&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">unknown</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Government-funded paid parental leave will be extended, and more pressure placed on fathers to share caring for babies, under an initiative to be unveiled by Anthony Albanese on Saturday. </p>
<p>Parental leave will be lengthened by six weeks, phased in, to total 26 weeks by 2026, with use-it-or-lose-it provisions directed to having fathers undertake a greater part of the early parenting. </p>
<p>Leave will be able to be taken in blocks between periods of work. Single parents will be entitled to the full 26 weeks.</p>
<p>The present scheme is for 18 weeks government-funded leave to care for a newborn. There is a separate “Dad and Partner” payment for two weeks.</p>
<p>The government says it will introduce reforms to modernise the system and improve flexibility from July next year. From July 1 2024 the time will start lengthening, with two extra weeks put on each year until the scheme reaches 26 weeks from July 2026. </p>
<p>The government’s women’s economic equality taskforce, chaired by Sam Mostyn, will advise on details of the model, including what mix of flexible weeks and the use-it-or-lose-it component for each parent are considered best. Details will be in the October 25 budget. </p>
<p>Albanese will formally announce the initiative when he addresses the NSW ALP conference on Saturday morning. </p>
<p>In his speech, an extract of which was released ahead of delivery, Albanese says that, like the government’s child care policy, extending PPL is an economic reform. </p>
<p>“By 2026, every family with a new baby will be able to access a total of six months paid leave, shared between the two parents,” he says. </p>
<p>“We will give families more leave and more flexibility, so people are able to use their weeks in a way that works best for them.</p>
<p>"Our plan will mean more families take up this leave, share in that precious time – and share the caring responsibilities more equally.</p>
<p>"This plan will support dads who want to take time off work to be more involved in those early months.</p>
<p>"It’s a modern policy, for modern families. It delivers more choice, it offers greater security – and it rewards aspiration.”</p>
<p>Albanese says that extended leave was one of the clearest calls that came out of the recent jobs summit.</p>
<p>“Businesses, unions, experts and economists all understand that providing more choice, more support and more flexibility for families and more opportunity for women boosts participation and productivity across the economy.”</p>
<p>He says the government sees this as “the baseline, a national minimum standard.</p>
<p>"We are encouraged that there are already employers across Australia competing to offer working parents the best possible deal. And we want to see more of it.</p>
<p>"Because a parental leave system that empowers the full and equal participation of women will be good for business, good for families and good for the economy.”</p>
<p>Minister for Women Katy Gallagher said that “having a child shouldn’t be an economic barrier for families or indeed act as a handbrake on the broader economy.</p>
<p>"Right now, this burden is borne disproportionately by women but we know that good women’s policy is also good economic policy and this decision is evidence of that.”</p>
<p>Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth said: “This will benefit mums, it will benefit dads, it’s good for children, and it will be a huge boost to the economy. </p>
<p>"We know that treating parenting as an equal partnership helps to improve gender equality.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192506/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The present scheme is for 18 weeks government-funded leave to care for a newborn. There is a separate “Dad and Partner” payment for two weeks.Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1878172022-09-15T12:22:25Z2022-09-15T12:22:25ZIn states where abortion is banned, children and families already face an uphill battle<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482819/original/file-20220905-14-wr41ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=21%2C26%2C3540%2C2344&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Of the 10 most child-friendly states, only one has attempted to ban abortion.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/katherine-merlos-a-pre-k-3-student-centron%C3%ADa-gives-a-thumbs-news-photo/1239430403">Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Some proponents of abortion bans and restrictions say they are concerned about “supporting not just life,” but what they call “<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/07/06/states-with-strong-antiabortion-laws-have-high-maternal-and-infant-mortality-rates/">quality of life worth living</a>,” saying they want to <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2022/06/anti-abortion-movement-dobbs-roe-overturned/661393/">promote laws and policies that help families</a>. Three authors from Brigham Young University, for instance, have noted that the overturning of Roe v. Wade provides a “<a href="https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2022/06/82906/">genuine opportunity for pro-lifers to work with people of diverse political persuasions</a> to seek a more just and compassionate world. This world would be not only pro-life, but also pro-child, pro-parent and pro-family.”</p>
<p>U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah is one of three Republicans in the Senate who have sponsored a bill called the <a href="https://www.romney.senate.gov/romney-family-security-act-2-0-one-of-the-most-important-efforts-to-support-the-family-in-nearly-thirty-years/">Family Security Act</a>, billed as a “pro-family, pro-life and pro-marriage plan” that would provide a monthly cash benefit starting at pregnancy and continuing through the child turning 17.</p>
<p>But so far, these are <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2022/06/anti-abortion-movement-dobbs-roe-overturned/661393/">minority voices</a> in the anti-abortion movement. </p>
<p>As a law professor who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=gCJEShUAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">studies reproductive care</a>, policies that affect families and political partisanship, I have been following the relationship between <a href="https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/research-shows-access-legal-abortion-improves-womens-lives">abortion restrictions and family well-being</a> for decades. It turns out that states taking the strictest stands against abortion tend to have among the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/28/upshot/abortion-bans-states-social-services.html">worst statistics</a> on child and family well-being in the nation.</p>
<h2>Unintended pregnancy and infant mortality</h2>
<p>Take Mississippi, the state that enacted the abortion restriction law that was at the center of the Supreme Court’s June 2022 opinion in <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf">Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization</a>, which struck down federal protection for the right to get an abortion. </p>
<p>In 2019, Mississippi had the <a href="https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/health-of-women-and-children/measure/unintended_pregnancy/state/U.S">highest rate of unintended pregnancy</a>, defined as the percentage of women who recently gave birth but whose pregnancies were either <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/contraception/unintendedpregnancy/index.htm">unwanted or happened at an unwanted time</a>. In Mississippi, 47% of women who recently had a child did not want to become pregnant or wanted to become pregnant later in life.</p>
<p>By contrast, Vermont had the nation’s lowest rate of unintended pregnancy in 2019, with <a href="https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/health-of-women-and-children/measure/unintended_pregnancy/state/U.S">just 20% of women who recently had a child</a> saying they would have preferred not to get pregnant or wanted to do so at some point in the future. That state already protects abortion rights. If Vermont’s <a href="https://www.wcax.com/2022/06/23/will-vermont-become-abortion-haven-if-scotus-upends-roe-v-wade/">upcoming referendum on abortion</a> passes, the state’s constitution will protect “<a href="https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2022/Docs/BILLS/PR0005/PR0005%20As%20adopted%20by%20the%20Senate%20Official.pdf">an individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy</a>.”</p>
<p>Mississippi also has the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/infant_mortality_rates/infant_mortality.htm">highest infant mortality rate</a> in the country. Five of the other nine states with the highest infant mortality <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/us/abortion-laws-roe-v-wade.html">also have abortion bans</a>. At the other end of the spectrum, of the 10 states with the lowest infant mortality rates, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/infant_mortality_rates/infant_mortality.htm">only one – Iowa</a> – has a law restricting abortions, <a href="https://www.kcci.com/article/governor-kim-reynolds-announces-legal-actions-regarding-abortion-in-iowa/40449729">although a court has prevented its enforcement</a>.</p>
<h2>Childhood poverty and teen birth rates</h2>
<p>Mississippi has the <a href="https://www.census.gov/acs/www/data/data-tables-and-tools/ranking-tables/">highest rate of child poverty in the country</a>. Six of the other 10 states with the country’s highest child poverty levels also have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/us/abortion-laws-roe-v-wade.html">abortion bans in effect</a>: Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, Oklahoma and Tennessee.</p>
<p>Mississippi also had the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/teen-births/teenbirths.htm">highest teen birth rate in the country</a>, and eight of the other nine states with the highest teen birth rates also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/us/abortion-laws-roe-v-wade.html">ban abortions or have a ban blocked</a>.</p>
<p>In all 10 states with the lowest teen birth rates, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/24/abortion-state-laws-criminalization-roe/">abortion is legal</a> and likely to be protected for the foreseeable future.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482820/original/file-20220905-18-djghzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A pregnant person has a written message on the skin of her belly: 'My daughter deserves a choice'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482820/original/file-20220905-18-djghzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482820/original/file-20220905-18-djghzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482820/original/file-20220905-18-djghzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482820/original/file-20220905-18-djghzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482820/original/file-20220905-18-djghzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482820/original/file-20220905-18-djghzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482820/original/file-20220905-18-djghzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A pregnant activist calls for abortion rights in Chicago on June 25, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/pregnant-woman-takes-part-in-a-protest-in-downtown-chicago-news-photo/1241562432?adppopup=true">Vincent D. Johnson/Xinhua via Getty Images)</a></span>
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<h2>Supporting families</h2>
<p>The well-being of children also depends on the availability of support for their parents.</p>
<p>For instance, <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/state-family-and-medical-leave-laws.aspx">11 states plus the District of Columbia legally require employers</a> to offer workers paid time off after the birth or adoption of a child. None of those jurisdictions <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/24/abortion-state-laws-criminalization-roe/">bans abortions</a>.</p>
<p>Another federal effort to support families came in the Affordable Care Act, enacted in 2010, with <a href="https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/affordable-care-act/">sweeping changes</a> to the nation’s health insurance marketplace. One provision allowed states to <a href="https://www.healthcare.gov/medicaid-chip/medicaid-expansion-and-you/">expand Medicaid eligibility</a> to more adults, with financial support from the federal government. If Medicaid were expanded, <a href="https://www.urban.org/research/publication/3-7-million-people-would-gain-health-coverage-2023-if-remaining-12-states-were">reproductive-aged women</a> would be among the groups to experience the largest coverage gains.</p>
<p>As of August 2022, <a href="https://www.urban.org/research/publication/3-7-million-people-would-gain-health-coverage-2023-if-remaining-12-states-were">12 states</a> had not adopted the expansion: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/us/abortion-laws-roe-v-wade.html">Eight of those states</a> have either a full ban on abortion or a ban after six weeks – before many people realize they are pregnant.</p>
<p>Two of those states, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/us/abortion-laws-roe-v-wade.html">South Carolina and Wyoming</a>, have abortion <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/08/04/1115542013/wyomings-new-ban-on-abortions-has-been-temporarily-blocked">laws that are tied up in the courts</a>, and Florida bans abortions after 15 weeks. </p>
<p>In a June 2022 <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2022/06/30/the-end-of-roe-will-create-more-inequality-of-opportunity-for-children/">Brookings Institution study</a> of the states that are considered most child-friendly – measured by state expenditures per child and children’s overall well-being – the authors found that among the top 10, only Wyoming was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/us/abortion-laws-roe-v-wade.html">even trying to ban abortion</a>. For the 10 states Brookings rated least child-friendly, nine either had a trigger ban or other abortion restriction.</p>
<p>The overall pattern is clear: A strong social safety net and other anti-poverty programs <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/13/opinion/abortion-romney-child-tax-credit.html">are more likely to be available</a> in states that also support abortion access, while actual measures of child and family well-being are often worse in states that restrict abortions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187817/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Naomi Cahn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>States taking the strictest stands against abortion tend to have among the worst statistics in the nation on child and family well-being.Naomi Cahn, Professor of Law, University of VirginiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1817852022-05-10T20:02:25Z2022-05-10T20:02:25ZPlanning kids? You should know the major parties’ parental leave policies before you vote<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461673/original/file-20220506-21-qbnnrr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C0%2C4649%2C3390&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most new Australian mothers receive <a href="https://guides.dss.gov.au/paid-parental-leave-guide/1/2/1/10">government paid parental leave</a> to support health, encourage workforce participation and balance work and family life equally with their partners. Despite this, Australia still has one of the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1475-4932.12371?saml_referrer">least generous</a> parental leave schemes in the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-17/fact-check-australia-paid-parental-leave/11270456">developed world</a>.</p>
<p>Both major parties propose to improve the paid parental leave scheme this election.</p>
<p>If you plan on having children, it’s worthwhile understanding what each party promises. Their policies may impact your health, income and the opportunity to pursue your career differently.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fathers-days-increasing-the-daddy-quota-in-parental-leave-makes-everyone-happier-122047">Father's days: increasing the 'daddy quota' in parental leave makes everyone happier</a>
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<h2>What are the major parties promising?</h2>
<p>The Australian government provides working parents with paid leave at the minimum wage for up to <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/most-viewed-payments-for-having-baby?type%5Bvalue%5D%5Bpayment_service%5D=payment_service">18 weeks</a>. This scheme was introduced by Labor in 2011 and represented a “<a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/lcdocs/other/15907/Prof%20Rae%20Cooper%20-%20Att%202%20-%20Baird,%20Hamilton%20and%20Constantin%20JIR%202021.pdf">giant leap</a>” in social policy, but it <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1475-4932.12371?saml_referrer">came quite late by OECD standards</a>.</p>
<p>It has since been adjusted to provide <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/dad-and-partner-pay">partners</a> with two weeks of leave and <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd1920a/20bd095">increase leave-taking flexibility</a>.</p>
<p>This election, the Coalition promises to “<a href="https://budget.gov.au/2022-23/content/womens-statement/download/womens_budget_statement_2022-23.pdf">enhance</a>” the scheme, although it will keep the total leave amount shared between parents unchanged at 20 weeks. It will also leave payments fixed at the minimum wage.</p>
<p>Instead, the Coalition will allow parents to completely share this leave flexibly between them as they choose, with no separate amounts earmarked for mothers or “dads and partners”.</p>
<p>The Coalition will fix a <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/paid-parental-leave-pay-inequality-calls-grow-for-ridiculous-rule-to-be-changed/d8a5294c-9776-4737-b13c-a222f0974198">design flaw</a> in the income test by connecting scheme eligibility to household income, rather than individual income. It will also increase the income threshold that cuts off access at $350,000, allowing <a href="https://budget.gov.au/2022-23/content/womens-statement/download/womens_budget_statement_2022-23.pdf">2,200 more families</a> to access the scheme.</p>
<p>Labor has a more <a href="https://alp.org.au/media/2594/2021-alp-national-platform-final-endorsed-platform.pdf">generous plan</a>, although they have not set an implementation date and have walked back making their policy a campaign promise. Its eventual goal is to increase total leave from 20 to 26 weeks to be shared between parents. It also seeks to pay benefits at a person’s full salary.</p>
<p>Labor aims to fund their proposed scheme from employer and government contributions. But their plan is scant on details, including how much this policy would cost, what proportion would be funded by business and government, and whether each parent will have leave earmarked for them.</p>
<p>A group that would be better off under either plan is single parents. They would be able to access more leave than the current 18 weeks available to them (Labor’s plan increases leave and the Coalition’s collapses leave for partners into the total leave entitlement).</p>
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<p><iframe id="5FEIR" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/5FEIR/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
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<h2>Leave-taking, gender equality and scheme fairness</h2>
<p>Take-up of the current scheme is <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/lcdocs/other/15907/Prof%20Rae%20Cooper%20-%20Att%202%20-%20Baird,%20Hamilton%20and%20Constantin%20JIR%202021.pdf">low</a> among Australian fathers. <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-the-budget-good-for-women-the-paid-parental-leave-change-takes-us-backwards-and-childcare-costs-were-ignored-179766">Some economists have criticised</a> the Coalition’s proposal to remove leave earmarked for fathers and partners, saying it would discourage them from taking any leave at all.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-the-budget-good-for-women-the-paid-parental-leave-change-takes-us-backwards-and-childcare-costs-were-ignored-179766">Is the budget good for women? The paid parental leave change takes us backwards and childcare costs were ignored</a>
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</p>
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<p>The argument is that if households want to maximise their income, lower paid parents (on average, mothers) would be the ones taking the entire 20 weeks’ leave, since it will be paid at the minimum wage. This means the Coalition’s plan may work against “<a href="https://guides.dss.gov.au/paid-parental-leave-guide/1/2/1/10">promoting equality between men and women</a>” in work and family life, despite offering more flexibility.</p>
<p>Labor’s plan better promotes equal leave-taking, since it will pay either parent taking leave their full salary.</p>
<p>Parental leave schemes in other countries offering higher salary replacement are funded by a combination of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1475-4932.12371?saml_referrer">government, employer and employee contributions</a>.</p>
<p>The Australian scheme already <a href="http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/bill_em/pplb2010176/memo_0.html">works together</a> with employer-paid leave as <a href="https://www.hcamag.com/au/specialisation/employment-law/majority-of-aussie-businesses-offer-paid-parental-leave-to-both-parents/325150">60% of Australian employers</a> also offer paid leave.</p>
<p>This arrangement creates differences in leave-taking between parents who can also use employer-paid leave and those without this privilege. This is inequitable and may translate to differences in mothers’ <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/hec.4164">health outcomes</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/paid-parental-leave-needs-an-overhaul-if-governments-want-us-to-have-one-for-the-country-145627">Paid parental leave needs an overhaul if governments want us to have 'one for the country'</a>
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<p>Labor has not clarified the details of their proposed government/employer-funded approach. More details are needed on how their scheme would interact with existing employer-paid parental leave policies and whether it would help address existing inequities.</p>
<h2>Effects on health</h2>
<p>Labor’s plan better supports parent and child health (particularly for those <a href="https://ahes.org.au/portfolio-items/parental-leave/">without any employer-paid leave</a>). Research has found <a href="https://ahes.org.au/portfolio-items/parental-leave/">six months’ leave</a> after birth for mothers is optimal for their mental health, a minimum amount also suggested by the <a href="https://www.unicef.org/sites/default/files/2019-07/UNICEF-Parental-Leave-Family-Friendly-Policies-2019.pdf">World Health Organisation</a> for promoting breastfeeding and infant health.</p>
<p>Labor will get Australia’s scheme closer to this benchmark.</p>
<p>When fathers take leave, this is associated with better health outcomes for both <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w25902">mothers</a> and <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Dad-Days-Grattan-Institute-Report.pdf">fathers</a>. It also supports children’s <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18052995/#:%7E:text=Father%20engagement%20seems%20to%20have,disadvantage%20in%20low%20SES%20families.">development</a>. </p>
<p>The Coalition’s plan doesn’t increase leave from the currently low entitlement. It also only allows mothers to take more leave at the expense of fathers (and vice versa), which may compromise health.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461675/original/file-20220506-20520-3a90uw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woman at desk talking to other woman" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461675/original/file-20220506-20520-3a90uw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461675/original/file-20220506-20520-3a90uw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461675/original/file-20220506-20520-3a90uw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461675/original/file-20220506-20520-3a90uw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461675/original/file-20220506-20520-3a90uw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461675/original/file-20220506-20520-3a90uw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461675/original/file-20220506-20520-3a90uw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Parental leave policies have to offer women enough time with their baby to promote good health, but not too much time they lose contact with the workforce.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>Women’s workforce participation</h2>
<p>Any changes to parental leave need to balance health promotion and gender equality with supporting women’s workforce participation.</p>
<p>Overly short leave increases the risk of women exiting the labour force, while overly long leave (<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1475-4932.12371?saml_referrer">more than one year</a>) can result in women losing valuable skills and weaken workforce attachment. (Although neither party’s plan is anywhere near generous enough to create this issue).</p>
<p>The current scheme includes six weeks’ paid leave that can be used <a href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/life-events/jobs-and-career/returning-to-work-after-parental-leave-or-a-career-break/returning-to-work-from-maternity-or-paternity-leave/if-youre-getting-parental-leave-pay#:%7E:text=If%20you're%20getting%20Parental%20Leave%20Pay,-You'll%20need&text=If%20this%20applies%2C%20you%20can,return%20to%20work%20part%20time">flexibly</a> between parents any time over the first two years after birth, including while working part-time. This feature potentially supports skill retention and employment attachment, and is probably what the Coalition had in mind when proposing complete flexibility in leave-taking.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/reforming-dad-leave-is-a-baby-step-towards-greater-gender-equality-144113">Reforming 'dad leave' is a baby step towards greater gender equality</a>
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<h2>Future changes needed to support Australian women</h2>
<p>Labor’s plan provides a health-promoting boost to leave, while the Coalition’s recognises the value of flexibility in supporting women’s work. Both plans are lacking in execution; Labor’s on details and the Coalition’s on policy design that promotes equality in leave-taking and caring.</p>
<p>Both parties should consider providing <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/paying-dads-to-take-six-months-leave-could-help-close-the-gender-pay-gap-20210212-p5724g.html">longer</a> and <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/federal-budget-2015/2022/03/30/parental-leave-reform/">equally split</a> leave for each parent with an additional “flexible” component, or rewarding <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Dad-Days-Grattan-Institute-Report.pdf">“bonus” leave</a> to parents who share leave more equally.</p>
<p>Australia has one of the most <a href="https://www.oecd.org/els/family/CO3_1_Educational_attainment_by_gender.pdf">highly educated and skilled working age</a> female workforces in the OECD. Sadly, this still isn’t reflected in <a href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/office-women/economic-security/wess/repair-and-rebuild-womens-workforce-participation-and-further-close-gender-pay-gap">women’s workforce participation</a>, with women more likely than men to work part-time, be under-represented in most industries and earn less. </p>
<p>Policy design matters, but broader changes are needed to draw on this “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/dec/14/australias-working-women-are-productivity-gold-here-are-five-ways-to-help-them-thrive">productivity gold</a>”. This includes promoting high-quality flexible work and normalising fathers taking extended leave to care for children.</p>
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<p><em>Update: this piece was amended to update the fact on Thursday 12 May 2022, Labor Leader Anthony Albanese stated the Labor party is no longer taking its 26 week paid parental leave policy to the election (although it remains a stated “goal” within Labor’s national policy platform).</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181785/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anam Bilgrami does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Labor and the Coalition have announced their parental leave policies. If you are planning to have children, you should be familiar with what they’re offering.Anam Bilgrami, Research Fellow, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1823302022-05-05T23:35:36Z2022-05-05T23:35:36ZDon’t give mum chocolates for Mother’s Day. Take on more housework, share the mental load and advocate for equality instead<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461128/original/file-20220504-12-uwoi2b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C16%2C5353%2C3547&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With Mother’s Day right around the corner, many grateful and loving families are thinking about what to give mum to show their appreciation. </p>
<p>Should you give her chocolate? Nope. Fancy soaps? Nope. Fuzzy slippers, pyjamas, scented candles? No, no and no.</p>
<p>On this Mother’s Day, keep your cash and give your wonderful mother gifts that will actually have a long-term impact on her health and well-being.</p>
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<p>
<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/planning-stress-and-worry-put-the-mental-load-on-mothers-will-2022-be-the-year-they-share-the-burden-172599">Planning, stress and worry put the mental load on mothers – will 2022 be the year they share the burden?</a>
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<h2>1. Do a chore that mum hates and hold onto it … forever</h2>
<p>Research <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13545701.2020.1831039">shows</a> men have increased the amount of time spent on housework and childcare and that mothers, over time, are doing less (hooray!). </p>
<p>But, women <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2008.00479.x">still do more housework</a> than men, especially when <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gwao.12497?fbclid=IwAR2dp04p2sFqbDqdehXmXgDSfTYwX3GRzP7ScMJhSOrMePTGQVErR2TTX88">kids are in the home</a>. </p>
<p>Further, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0891243205285212">men tend to pick up the more desirable tasks</a>, like <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3598304">cooking and playing with the kids</a>, leaving mothers to do the less pleasurable chores (think cleaning toilets and clearing out fridges). </p>
<p>The chore divide in same-sex relationships is generally found to be more equal, but some critique suggests equality may suffer <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/16/upshot/same-sex-couples-divide-chores-much-more-evenly-until-they-become-parents.html">once kids are involved</a>. </p>
<p>This year give your mum (or mums) the gift of equal housework and childcare sharing – start by taking the most-hated tasks and then hold onto them… forever. </p>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gwao.12727">Research</a> shows housework inequality is bad for women’s mental health. Undervaluing women’s housework and unequal sharing of the chores deteriorates <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-022-01282-5">relationship quality</a>, and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0038038516674664">leads to divorce</a>. </p>
<p>Housework and childcare take up valuable time to keep the family happy, harmonious and thriving, often at the expense of mum’s health and well-being. </p>
<p>So, skip the chocolates and show mum love by doing the worst, most drudgerous and constant household chores (hello, cleaning mouldy showers!) and keep doing these… forever.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461132/original/file-20220504-13-xx8237.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461132/original/file-20220504-13-xx8237.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461132/original/file-20220504-13-xx8237.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461132/original/file-20220504-13-xx8237.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461132/original/file-20220504-13-xx8237.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461132/original/file-20220504-13-xx8237.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461132/original/file-20220504-13-xx8237.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461132/original/file-20220504-13-xx8237.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This year give your mum (or mums) the gift of equal housework and childcare sharing – start by taking the most-hated tasks and then hold onto them… forever.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>2. Initiate a mental unload</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2017-09-14/the-mental-load-and-what-to-do-about-it/8942032">mental load</a> is all of the planning, organising and management work necessary to keep the family running.</p>
<p>The mental load is often perceived as list making or allocating tasks to family members. </p>
<p>But, it’s so much more – it is the <a href="https://theconversation.com/planning-stress-and-worry-put-the-mental-load-on-mothers-will-2022-be-the-year-they-share-the-burden-172599">emotional work</a> that goes with this thinking work. </p>
<p>The mental load is the worry work that never ends and can be done <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13668803.2021.2002813">anywhere, anytime and with anyone</a> (in, for example, said mouldy shower). </p>
<p>Because the mental load is performed inside our heads, it is invisible. That means we don’t know when we or others are performing this labour unless we really tune in. </p>
<p>In fact, it is often when we tune in through quiet time, relaxation or meditation that the mental load rears its ugly head. Suddenly you remind yourself to buy oranges for the weekend soccer game, organise a family movie night and don’t forget to check in on nanna.</p>
<p>Women in heterosexual relationships are <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0003122419859007">shown to do more</a> of the mental load with serious consequences for their mental health. But we don’t have a comprehensive measurement of how much women do it nor how it is allocated in same-sex couples. </p>
<p>So, on this mothers’ day spend some time talking about, cataloguing, and equalising the family’s mental load. </p>
<p>This isn’t just making a list about what has to be done but also understanding <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2017-09-14/the-mental-load-and-what-to-do-about-it/8942032">how the mental load</a> connects to the emotional health of the family, and the person carrying this <a href="https://www.newamerica.org/better-life-lab/blog/making-the-mental-load-visible/">invisible labour, worry and stress</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461130/original/file-20220504-25-1h4o65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461130/original/file-20220504-25-1h4o65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461130/original/file-20220504-25-1h4o65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461130/original/file-20220504-25-1h4o65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461130/original/file-20220504-25-1h4o65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461130/original/file-20220504-25-1h4o65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461130/original/file-20220504-25-1h4o65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461130/original/file-20220504-25-1h4o65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The mental load is all the planning, organising and management work necessary to keep the family running.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Speak up for your mum and all caregivers</h2>
<p>Families alone cannot bear the brunt of the caregiving necessary to keep us thriving. </p>
<p>Governments, workplaces and local communities also play a critical role. For this mothers’ day, pick an issue impacting mothers (for example, equal pay, affordable childcare or paid family leave) and do one thing to help move the needle.</p>
<p>Write a letter to your boss, your local MP, or donate money to an advocacy organisation advancing gender equality.</p>
<p>Or, role model these behaviours yourself – normalise caregiving as a critical piece of being an effective worker, create policies and practices that support junior staff to care for themselves, their families and their communities and use these policies. </p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0891243216649946">Research</a> shows men want to be equal carers and sharers but often fear what taking time off for caregiving will signal to their employer despite evidence that fathers who request flexible work are perceived more <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sf/article-abstract/94/4/1567/2461609?login=false">favourably</a>. </p>
<p>Appearing to be singularly devoted to work was shown to be impossible during the pandemic with kids, spouses, partners, and pets home all day long. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461131/original/file-20220504-14-ehwvib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461131/original/file-20220504-14-ehwvib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461131/original/file-20220504-14-ehwvib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461131/original/file-20220504-14-ehwvib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461131/original/file-20220504-14-ehwvib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461131/original/file-20220504-14-ehwvib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461131/original/file-20220504-14-ehwvib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461131/original/file-20220504-14-ehwvib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Write a letter to your boss, your local MP, or donate money to an advocacy organisation advancing gender equality.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>Learning to create more care-inclusive workplaces and communities is critical. </p>
<p>Paid parental leave, affordable and accessible high-quality childcare, flexibility in how, when and where we work and greater investments in paid sick leave, long-term disability support and aged care are just a few policies that would strengthen the care safety net. </p>
<p>We will all be called upon to care at some point in our lives – let’s create the environments that support caregiving for all, not just mum.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/flexible-work-arrangements-help-women-but-only-if-they-are-also-offered-to-men-155882">Flexible work arrangements help women, but only if they are also offered to men</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182330/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leah Ruppanner receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>On this Mother’s Day, keep your cash and give your wonderful mother gifts that will actually have a long-term impact on her health and well-being.Leah Ruppanner, Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of The Future of Work Lab, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1807772022-04-13T20:33:42Z2022-04-13T20:33:42ZFewer than 1% of New Zealand men take paid parental leave – would offering them more to stay at home help?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457529/original/file-20220411-10942-h2ic9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=30%2C10%2C6679%2C4456&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The revelation that women’s KiwiSaver retirement savings <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/464724/new-study-shows-gender-wage-gap-persists-into-retirement">lag 20%</a> behind men’s represents a double threat: not only are women paid less during their working lives, they will also be poorer when they retire.</p>
<p>This is perhaps to be expected – the gap in retirement savings reflects the gender pay gap overall. Many women who do the same work as men are comparatively underpaid, meaning they have less money to save for their retirement. </p>
<p>COVID-19 worsened the pay and savings gender gap. The government’s <a href="https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/statistics/covid-19/who-received-the-covid-19-wage-subsidies-september-2020.html">direct financial assistance</a> favoured male-dominated sectors like construction, rather than female-dominated, low-wage sectors like hospitality. </p>
<p>On top of this, a COVID <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2021/11/16/increased-number-of-births-in-2021-confirm-lockdown-baby-boom/">baby boom</a> will likely see old trends reinforced, with more women than men taking time out of the paid workforce. In turn, this will see them <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/458102/bad-then-worse-now-how-covid-19-will-hurt-retired-women.">disadvantaged when they retire</a>, perpetuating the cycle.</p>
<p>Part of the solution, therefore, would be to enable more women to return to paid work by making it more attractive for men to take paid parental leave. Because right now, the number of new fathers choosing to do this is vanishingly small.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1511472175370309635"}"></div></p>
<h2>Old stereotypes persist</h2>
<p>These problems have wider implications for the rights of women to equality and freedom from discrimination under international and domestic law. </p>
<p>New Zealand’s Human Rights Act also prohibits indirect discrimination, meaning laws or policies that have a negative effect on certain groups – even if unintentional – are still discriminatory.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-coming-storm-for-new-zealands-future-retirees-still-renting-and-not-enough-savings-to-avoid-poverty-179661">The coming storm for New Zealand’s future retirees: still renting and not enough savings to avoid poverty</a>
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<p>Yes, New Zealand’s <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1987/0129/latest/DLM121500.html">statutory parental leave scheme</a> mitigates some of the immediate financial burden of childbearing and child rearing. It appears, on the face of it, to promote gender equality, since either parent can be the primary carer and thus be <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1987/0129/latest/DLM120458.html">entitled</a> to parental leave. Also, one parent can transfer their leave and <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1987/0129/latest/DLM121550.html">pay</a> entitlements to the other. </p>
<p>However, the statutory leave payments are capped at NZ$621 per week, which is less than the weekly minimum wage. And while a partner is entitled to up to <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1987/0129/latest/whole.html#DLM120608">two weeks</a> of leave, that leave is unpaid.</p>
<p>This rather meagre scheme hasn’t prevented <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/125293248/2degrees-dials-up-its-paid-parental-leave-to-hold-on-to-workers">some companies</a> from generating their own, more generous packages, some of which provide paid partner’s leave.</p>
<p>Yet the statutory entitlements are transferred in less than 1% of cases, and only 4% of partners take unpaid leave. It seems the present system serves to reinforce old <a href="https://www.mbie.govt.nz/assets/f58553252a/ris-2015-modernising-parental-leave.pdf">stereotypes</a> of women as carers and men as earners outside the home. </p>
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<h2>Stay-at-home dads</h2>
<p>One way to change this would be to introduce non-transferable, paid partner leave. This would apply irrespective of whether the primary carer has an entitlement to paid parental leave themselves. </p>
<p>Such a scheme would offer greater incentive for men to look after their young children at home, freeing up more women to go back to work. </p>
<p>There is evidence this works. Sweden introduced <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/rsa/456">paid parental leave</a> in 1974, but the number of fathers taking leave only jumped significantly when non-transferable paid leave was introduced in 1995.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-wonder-dads-arent-taking-shared-parental-leave-most-employers-have-failed-to-embrace-it-104290">No wonder dads aren't taking shared parental leave – most employers have failed to embrace it</a>
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<p>A number of other countries are <a href="https://www.unicef.org/media/95086/file/UNICEF-Parental-Leave-Family-Friendly-Policies-2019.pdf">already guaranteeing</a> paid parental leave that includes paid paternity leave or leave reserved specifically for fathers of infants. And a <a href="https://women.govt.nz/sites/public_files/parental-leave.pdf">similar recommendation</a> was made by New Zealand’s National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women as far back as 2008.</p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.oecd.org/policy-briefs/parental-leave-where-are-the-fathers.pdf">OECD research</a> suggests paternity leave payments need to be equivalent to half or more of a father’s previous earnings. Given the existing gender pay gap means fathers are already likely to be earning more than mothers, a partner-specific scheme would inevitably favour men.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/paid-family-leave-makes-people-happier-global-data-shows-179539">Paid family leave makes people happier, global data shows</a>
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<h2>Happier families</h2>
<p>Offering boosted paternity payments for men as a way to close the gender pay gap may seem paradoxical. But it does highlight the <a href="https://www.newsroom.co.nz/cap-doesnt-fit-for-paid-parental-leave">ineffectiveness</a> of current systems offering lower payments that are taken up mainly by women. </p>
<p>Again, <a href="https://www.ifau.se/globalassets/pdf/se/2010/wp10-4-the-effect-of-own-and-spousal-parental-leave-on-earnings.pdf">Swedish research</a> suggests separate payments to fathers can serve to close the gender pay gap by allowing mothers to return to the paid workforce. Opportunities for promotion and pay rises can then increase retirement savings.</p>
<p>And there are <a href="https://www.unicef.org/media/95086/file/UNICEF-Parental-Leave-Family-Friendly-Policies-2019.pdf">wider benefits</a> to these family-friendly policies, such as improved health for mothers and children, improved educational outcomes for children, and <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/fathers-days-increasing-the-daddy-quota-in-parental-leave-makes-everyone-happier/A5PN3ULCRVYFPB2IKWQ2DWAAUM/">lower levels of stress</a> among fathers.</p>
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<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fixing-gender-gaps-isnt-just-about-women-men-will-benefit-from-a-more-equal-society-too-94874">Fixing gender gaps isn't just about women – men will benefit from a more equal society too</a>
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<p>Of course, another barrier to men taking parental leave is their fear of the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210712-paternity-leave-the-hidden-barriers-keeping-men-at-work">career and social consequences</a>. Those <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/money/2019/09/paid-parental-leave-cultural-shift-needed-to-encourage-dads-to-take-time-off.html">deeper stereotypes</a> of women as homemakers and men as providers will not disappear overnight, as the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/10/sweden-parental-leave-corporate-pressure-men-work">Swedish experience</a> shows. But the fact a female prime minister’s male partner has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/commentisfree/2018/aug/06/clarke-gayford-is-staying-at-home-with-baby-neve-so-whats-the-big-deal">embraced the caregiving role</a> is perhaps a start. </p>
<p>Longer term, however, making paid paternity leave a more <a href="https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/1816602/paid-leave-for-fathers.pdf">viable option</a> financially and socially for families will mean doing more to address the gender pay gap and its flow-on effects over a woman’s lifetime. </p>
<p>There’s no single solution to this multi-faceted problem, but encouraging more men back into the home with paid paternity leave would help shift things in the right direction.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180777/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claire Breen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Current parental leave schemes reinforce old gender stereotypes and the pay gap between women and men. Overseas experience shows better targeted leave for new fathers helps everyone.Claire Breen, Professor of Law, University of WaikatoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1795392022-04-06T12:23:08Z2022-04-06T12:23:08ZPaid family leave makes people happier, global data shows<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455648/original/file-20220331-20-lmaos1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1131%2C6585%2C3653&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Caring for a newborn can be joyous.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/parents-with-baby-girl-sitting-on-sofa-royalty-free-image/1291784765">Johner Images via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The U.S. <a href="https://www.abc10.com/article/news/verify/government-verify/paid-family-maternity-leave-united-states-one-of-handful-countries-without-guarantee/536-d24f5921-835a-4c48-ae90-a0bbb00c5b77">remains the only</a> advanced economy <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-us-is-stingier-with-child-care-and-maternity-leave-than-the-rest-of-the-world-94770">without federal paid leave</a>, despite overwhelming <a href="https://theconversation.com/82-of-americans-want-paid-maternity-leave-making-it-as-popular-as-chocolate-159897">support for this benefit</a>.</p>
<p>Employers are free to provide this benefit at their own expense. But only <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/factsheet/family-leave-benefits-fact-sheet.htm">1 in 4 U.S. workers</a>, including <a href="https://www.commerce.gov/hr/paid-parental-leave-federal-employees">federal employees</a>, can take paid time off to care for a newborn or a newly adopted or fostered child. That’s problematic for many reasons, including the abundant evidence that paid leave boosts healthy <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1293603.pdf">childhood development</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/703138">economic security</a>.</p>
<p>President Joe Biden has sought to <a href="https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/benefits/pages/how-bidens-paid-fmla-proposal-would-work.aspx">expand access to paid family leave</a>, initially through his <a href="https://19thnews.org/2021/12/us-universal-paid-leave-build-back-better/">Build Back Better</a> package, which is now on hold. He reasserted his calls to do so in his March 2022 <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/03/01/remarks-of-president-joe-biden-state-of-the-union-address-as-delivered/">State of the Union address</a>.</p>
<p>Based on our extensive research regarding the connections between <a href="https://scholar.google.co.jp/citations?user=sqnXS-sAAAAJ&hl=en">social policies</a> and the <a href="https://arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/content/dam/arts-sciences/sociology/faculty/department-profiles/Kristen%20Schultz%20Lee%20updated%20CV.pdf">happiness of families</a>, we’re certain that expanding access to paid leave to more employees would make them happier.</p>
<p><iframe id="BH1Bp" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/BH1Bp/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Children and unhappy parents</h2>
<p>In recent years, a growing number of studies have indicated that <a href="https://contexts.org/articles/the-joys-of-parenthood-reconsidered/">parents, particularly in the United States</a>, are <a href="https://www.vox.com/22577373/do-i-want-kids-parenthood-baby-childfree">generally less happy</a> than their childless peers, especially when their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0190272520902453">children are little</a>.</p>
<p>Parents also experience more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/002214650504600403">depression</a>, <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1177%2F17579139211018243">loneliness</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0190272520902453">stress</a>.</p>
<p>Some scholars argue that a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/688892">lack of government support</a> for raising kids is causing this “<a href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/happiest-parents-country/">happiness gap</a>.”</p>
<p>Only 6.3% of 3-year-olds and just over 33% of 4-year-olds nationwide are enrolled in a <a href="https://nieer.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/YB2020_Executive_Summary_080521.pdf">state-funded preschool program</a>, although free early childhood education is becoming more common. Likewise, just <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2021-11/57631-Paid-Leave.pdf">nine states</a> and the District of Columbia now provide paid family leave for new parents.</p>
<p>In other words, most U.S. families are still being left behind. And without universal free pre-K or <a href="https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/fact-sheet/paid-leave-in-u-s/">paid family leave</a>, many parents are <a href="https://www.readingrockets.org/article/pre-k-across-country">largely on their own</a> in terms of finding and paying for private child care for young children.</p>
<p>Paid family leave of at least a month can help parents to develop more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0192513X17728984">fulfilling family relationships</a>. For example, it can allow parents to spend more time reading and singing to their child, which benefits cognitive development.</p>
<p>The effects of paid leave on the relationship between parents depends on who is taking the leave. If only mothers take family leave, then <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/651384">gender inequality in housework</a> increases. But when fathers take paid leave, couples share their housework responsibilities and child care <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/703115">more equally</a>.</p>
<p>This is because when both parents take a leave after the arrival of a new child, they are more likely to establish household routines that result in an equal sharing of household tasks. One study found that when fathers were encouraged to take a parental leave, their participation in household tasks increased by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/703115">250%</a>.</p>
<p>When parents are free to take <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1293603">more time off work</a> to care for their infants and newly adopted children with fewer financial costs and little fear of job loss – and especially when dads are encouraged to take time off – both children and their parents are happier.</p>
<h2>Global perspectives</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.abc-clio.com/products/A4471C/">Through our research</a> spanning <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sot094">27 countries</a>, we’ve found that parents in wealthy countries with weak safety nets – <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/06/23/the-social-safety-net-the-gaps-that-covid-19-spotlights/">such as the U.S.</a> – tend to be less happy than their counterparts in countries <a href="https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/case-danish-style-safety-net">like Denmark</a> where the government provides everyone with more support. </p>
<p>This is one reason Finland, Norway and other nations with strong welfare states <a href="https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/happiness/OECD/">consistently rank</a> at the top of the <a href="https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2022/happiness-benevolence-and-trust-during-covid-19-and-beyond/#ranking-of-happiness-2019-2021">World Happiness Report</a>, an annual assessment based on Gallup World Poll data. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6609-9_14">U.S. ranks lower than would be predicted</a> in that report given its economic standing, while the opposite is true in the case of Denmark, Canada, New Zealand and other welfare states.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sot094">We’ve also found that</a> when governments step up their spending on social programs and adjust tax burdens to make the rich shoulder more of the costs of running the government, economic inequality declines. At the same time, the happiness levels of low-income and high-income people become more similar.</p>
<p>Higher social spending especially increases the happiness of women with small children and people who are cohabiting but unmarried. Other international research shows greater <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/679627">economic</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1257/pol.20190022">mental health</a>
benefits of paid leave for low-income families.</p>
<p><a href="https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2020/the-nordic-exceptionalism-what-explains-why-the-nordic-countries-are-constantly-among-the-happiest-in-the-world">Recent</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sou010">research</a> by other scholars who study countries that have invested heavily in social welfare policies like paid family leave further supports our findings.</p>
<p>Respondents in the <a href="https://econpapers.repec.org/article/blaecinqu/v_3a51_3ay_3a2013_3ai_3a1_3ap_3a1-15.htm">world’s most generous welfare states</a> were more satisfied with their work, health and family life than people in places with weaker safety nets.</p>
<p>As one notable example, a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oep/gpab038">recent study</a> that one of us co-authored showed that the Japanese government’s investments in generous paid leave for families with small children, access to child care, child allowances and free health insurance for children, as well as increased benefits for older adults, were associated with modest gains in overall happiness.</p>
<p>These policies made significant differences for women with small children and older people, who became happier between 1990 and 2010.</p>
<h2>Losing benefits can decrease happiness</h2>
<p>In addition, there is evidence of what can happen when government benefits that meet many people’s needs are taken away. In the <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/happiness-growth-and-the-life-cycle-9780199597093?cc=jp&lang=en&#">former German Democratic Republic</a>, satisfaction generally rose between 1990, just before its transition to a free-market economy from a communist state, and 2004 in terms of the freedom to buy goods and services.</p>
<p>On the other hand, that same study found that satisfaction in the place that also used to be called East Germany plummeted concerning health, work and child care. People had been guaranteed access to health care and child care, as well as job security, under communist rule – but all of that changed when that system collapsed.</p>
<p>Federal paid leave gives families a chance to find their footing after the arrival of a new child, without having to quit their job or take unpaid time off. It should come as no surprise that such a safety net would make families not only economically more secure, but happier too.</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?nl=weekly&source=inline-weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179539/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hiroshi Ono receives funding from Japan Society for Promotion of Science.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristen Schultz Lee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This important benefit does more than just help parents in terms of dollars and cents.Kristen Schultz Lee, Associate Professor of Sociology, University at BuffaloHiroshi Ono, Professor of Human Resource Management, School of International Corporate Strategy, Hitotsubashi UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1797662022-03-30T19:07:07Z2022-03-30T19:07:07ZIs the budget good for women? The paid parental leave change takes us backwards and childcare costs were ignored<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455181/original/file-20220330-19-pm710s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C25%2C4203%2C2794&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Among the many budget papers is the <a href="https://budget.gov.au/2022-23/content/womens-statement/download/womens_budget_statement_2022-23.pdf">Women’s Budget Statement</a>, a booklet outlining what the federal government is doing for Australian women. This includes A$2.1 billion for measures on <a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-1-3-billion-for-womens-safety-in-the-budget-and-its-nowhere-near-enough-180256">domestic violence</a>, women’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/endometriosis-can-end-womens-careers-and-stall-their-education-thats-everyones-business-179846">health</a>, training and leadership. </p>
<p>As Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Women’s Minister Marise Payne write, the 2022 budget</p>
<blockquote>
<p>demonstrates the Government’s continued commitment and action to achieving greater gender equality in Australia, and puts women at the centre of the economic and social recovery.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Does this stack up? One of the headline budget measures was an “enhanced” parental leave scheme. But the overhaul will not support gender equality in work and care. Meanwhile, the lack of reform to childcare is the biggest missed opportunity of the budget.</p>
<h2>Paid parental leave</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://ministers.pmc.gov.au/payne/2022/2022-23-budget-boost-support-australian-women-and-girls">budget combines</a> two existing parental leave schemes into one. It merges two weeks of dad and partner pay with 18 weeks of parental leave pay (for the primary carer). Now, either parent can take the leave of up to 20 weeks in a bid to increase “choice and flexibility for families”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The women's budget statement" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455175/original/file-20220330-23-yyfd84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455175/original/file-20220330-23-yyfd84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455175/original/file-20220330-23-yyfd84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455175/original/file-20220330-23-yyfd84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455175/original/file-20220330-23-yyfd84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455175/original/file-20220330-23-yyfd84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455175/original/file-20220330-23-yyfd84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The women’s budget statement was released on Tuesday night.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mick Tsikas/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This will especially benefit single parents, most of whom are women. But by removing the specific provision for dads and partners, it undoes good policy architecture designed to “nudge” men to take leave when a baby arrives.</p>
<p>Global <a href="https://men-care.org/resources/state-of-the-worlds-fathers-2021/">research</a> shows parental leave policies available to both parents on a “use it or lose it” basis deliver the best health and economic outcomes for children, women and men. These schemes mean dedicated leave for one parent cannot be taken by the other, pushing both parents to take leave to care. </p>
<p>Policy that supports the shared care of young children has been found to promote women’s participation in paid work and a <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Briefing-Note-Parental-Leave-in-Iceland-WEB.pdf">more equitable division</a> of unpaid care work over the long term. </p>
<h2>Dad pay should not have been dumped</h2>
<p>Global and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00221856211008219?journalCode=jira">Australian research</a> also shows men are most likely to take parental leave when it is at income replacement level. </p>
<p>With the paid parental leave scheme paid at the national minimum wage rather than at wage replacement levels, there is a real risk men will not take up their new leave entitlement. Current <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-cost-of-living-budget-cuts-spends-and-everything-you-need-to-know-at-a-glance-180124">cost-of-living pressures</a> mean households are under increased economic strain and unable to afford any drop in income. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-1-3-billion-for-womens-safety-in-the-budget-and-its-nowhere-near-enough-180256">There's $1.3 billion for women's safety in the budget and it's nowhere near enough</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>So, the dad and partner pay should not have been dumped. Instead, it should have been developed to increase the incentives for men to take up more of the care load that will support women in the workforce, children’s health and men’s well-being. </p>
<p>This is on top of other necessary reforms - parental leave needs to be more generous in time and income. Superannuation also <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-fatherhood-penalty-how-parental-leave-policies-perpetuate-the-gender-gap-even-in-our-progressive-universities-160102">needs to be paid</a> on the national scheme.</p>
<h2>This will not change traditional caring roles</h2>
<p>Even as the government removes the old categories of “primary” and “secondary” carer in the revised payment, the new scheme still risks entrenching Australian women as primary carers. </p>
<p>Australian women already do the majority of care and domestic work, and this is unlikely to shift without some strong incentives. The pandemic reminded us of just how “sticky” the unequal division of care work is as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13545701.2020.1831039">women shouldered the lion’s share</a> of the pandemic care load. </p>
<p>The bottom line is this is not the kind of policy change that will drive an inclusive economic recovery and a gender equal economy. </p>
<h2>Another blokes’ budget</h2>
<p>As in <a href="https://theconversation.com/hold-the-celebrations-the-budgets-supposed-focus-on-women-is-no-game-changer-160768">previous years</a>, this budget is focused on hard infrastructure such as cyber security, defence and traditional male trades. </p>
<p>These are important, but a better-balanced budget would deliver new investment in the essential care infrastructure our economy relies on. Countries such as <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2021/04/budget-2021-a-canada-wide-early-learning-and-child-care-plan.html">Canada</a> and the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/07/22/fact-sheet-how-the-build-back-better-plan-will-create-a-better-future-for-young-americans/">United States</a> are developing new national care systems to drive productivity and an inclusive pandemic recovery. </p>
<h2>A huge missed opportunity with childcare</h2>
<p>This has been billed as a “cost-of-living” budget, but early childhood education and care have been overlooked. Even with a record spend of $10.3 billion this financial year, Australia has one of the most expensive early learning systems (for consumers) in the world. Childcare payments are one of the biggest costs to households, alongside housing costs and food. </p>
<p>A 2021 Mitchell Institute report found childcare is <a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/mitchell-institute/early-learning/assessing-childcare-affordability-in-australia">unaffordable</a> for almost 40% of families. It is also <a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/sites/default/files/how-accessible-is-childcare-report.pdf">difficult to access</a>, especially in remote and regional areas. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Father with baby in baby carrier." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455187/original/file-20220330-4833-1qvpzua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455187/original/file-20220330-4833-1qvpzua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455187/original/file-20220330-4833-1qvpzua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455187/original/file-20220330-4833-1qvpzua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455187/original/file-20220330-4833-1qvpzua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455187/original/file-20220330-4833-1qvpzua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455187/original/file-20220330-4833-1qvpzua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Childcare costs put huge pressure on families and can see mums in particular cut down their paid working hours.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This makes the $19.4 million allocation for 20 new childcare centres in known childcare “deserts” a welcome budget initiative. But much more is required.</p>
<p>There is widespread consensus amongst economists, business, civil society and community groups about the urgent need for free or more affordable early learning and care services for all children, regardless of what the parents do or do not do for work. </p>
<p>In The Conversation’s annual pre-budget <a href="https://theconversation.com/cut-emissions-not-petrol-tax-fund-childcare-not-beer-what-economists-want-from-next-weeks-budget-179837">survey of economists</a>, one-third of respondents agreed increasing public subsidies for early learning and care was an appropriate way to spend money, even if it added to the deficit.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-2018-childcare-package-was-partly-designed-to-help-families-work-more-but-the-benefits-were-too-modest-to-matter-179934">The 2018 childcare package was partly designed to help families work more. But the benefits were too modest to matter</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Investment in early learning is a key productivity measure – it will drive the pandemic recovery and support women to work at a level that suits their skills and aspirations. It is also a critical investment in our future, supporting all kids to have the best start in life no matter what their background.</p>
<p>Our system is not working for families and children, and this budget just tinkers at the sidelines.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179766/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Hill receives funding from The Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>The lack of reform to childcare - a huge cost-of-living pressure - is the biggest missed opportunity of the week.Elizabeth Hill, Associate Professor Political Economy and Deputy Director, The Gender Equality in Working Life Research Initiative, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1607682021-05-12T20:04:08Z2021-05-12T20:04:08ZHold the celebrations — the budget’s supposed focus on women is no game-changer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400282/original/file-20210512-17-10j7a84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Luks Coch/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One of the major planks of the budget was a <a href="https://theconversation.com/fewer-hard-hats-more-soft-hearts-budget-pivots-to-women-and-care-159332">pitch to women</a>. </p>
<p>This included an 80-plus page <a href="https://budget.gov.au/2021-22/content/womens-statement/index.htm">women’s budget statement</a> — the first <a href="https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/each-budget-used-to-have-a-gender-impact-statement-we-need-it-back-especially-now/">since 2013</a> — with an overall figure of A$3.4 billion for women’s safety, economic security and health. </p>
<p>After the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/high-viz-narrow-vision-the-budget-overlooks-the-hardest-hit-in-favour-of-the-hardest-hats-147601">hard hat</a>” budget in October 2020 that was criticised for its “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-11/federal-budget-women/13339300">blokey</a>” focus, the government was under pressure to deliver more for women. </p>
<p>This also comes as polling data show <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2021/03/15/will-women-forsake-the-liberal-party-at-the-next-election-.html">support for the Coalition</a> among female voters is slipping, following months of scandals about the treatment of women in politics.</p>
<p>Now we have the detail, is this budget as “women friendly” as the Morrison government would like us to believe?</p>
<h2>The short answer</h2>
<p>This budget is not a game-changer for women’s economic security. </p>
<p>Treasurer Josh Frydenberg included a section on women in his <a href="https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/josh-frydenberg-2018/speeches/budget-speech-2021-22">budget speech</a>, but the highly targeted and modest nature of the relevant initiatives, combined with a lack of action in critical gender equality policy areas, has left women’s opportunities for economic security largely unchanged.</p>
<p>Let’s examine some of the specific policy areas. </p>
<h2>The childcare subsidy</h2>
<p>The $1.7 billion in extra funding for childcare subsidies was <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-coalitions-child-care-subsidy-plan-how-it-works-and-what-it-means-for-families-and-the-economy-160173">announced pre-budget</a> and is a modest addition to the more than $10 billion spent each year on early childhood education and care. The new money is spread over three years and is tightly targeted, aimed at reducing the out of pocket expenses of families with two or more children under six years in approved services. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Children playing at a Canberra daycare centre." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400228/original/file-20210512-24-6os3e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400228/original/file-20210512-24-6os3e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400228/original/file-20210512-24-6os3e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400228/original/file-20210512-24-6os3e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400228/original/file-20210512-24-6os3e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400228/original/file-20210512-24-6os3e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400228/original/file-20210512-24-6os3e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Extra funding for childcare makes up about half of the spending in the women’s budget statement.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mick Tsikas/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The government estimates the change will benefit around 250,000 or one quarter of families who use early childhood services, and is expected to have only a modest impact on women’s labour supply. Families with one child in a service are not eligible for the reduction. </p>
<p>Removal of the annual $10,560 cap on the total subsidy available to higher income families is forecast to benefit around 18,000 families and reduce the disincentive for women in these households to work an extra day or two. </p>
<p>These changes will be good for those who qualify, but they inexplicably don’t apply until July 2022. They also make an already complex system even more complex. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/insulting-and-degrading-budget-funding-for-childcare-may-help-families-but-educators-are-still-being-paid-pennies-160610">'Insulting' and 'degrading': budget funding for childcare may help families but educators are still being paid pennies</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The highly-targeted measures do not move Australia closer to the universal system of low-cost or free high-quality childcare that will deliver <a href="https://cedakenticomedia.blob.core.windows.net/cedamediacontainer/kentico/media/researchcataloguedocuments/pdfs/ccep-labour-inequality-elizabeth-hill.pdf">maximum benefit</a> to children, women’s labour force supply and economic prosperity. </p>
<p>There is also no change to the <a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/labors-early-childhood-education-spokeswoman-amanda-rishworth-has-called-on-the-government-to-scrap-its-requirement-that-stayathome-parents-be-volunteering-or-studying-to-access-childcare-rebates/video/a4fe9976c172e2a27831c14c081943ee">work test</a> and the reduction in subsidised access for <a href="https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/who-is-left-behind-under-the-new-child-care-subsidy">children from vulnerable families</a>. Both of these are unfortunate features of the existing scheme and disadvantage children who need early learning and care the most. </p>
<h2>Superannuation</h2>
<p>Another key measure was the abolition of the <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/federal-budget/more-australians-to-be-paid-compulsory-super-under-new-changes/news-story/42bcb6f67b70c75311d997f463b1dc41">$450 per month income threshold</a> under which employers do not have to pay the superannuation guarantee. This is estimated to affect around 200,000 women, especially those holding multiple short hours and low paid jobs. </p>
<p>But while payment of the superannuation guarantee will boost retirement savings, it won’t make a substantial difference to women’s retirement income and security. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/politics-with-michelle-grattan-what-should-the-budget-do-for-women-jennifer-westacott-bca-and-michele-oneil-actu-160368">Politics with Michelle Grattan: what should the budget do for women? Jennifer Westacott (BCA) and Michele O'Neil (ACTU)</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Superannuation is a workplace entitlement that directly reflects women’s employment history. </p>
<p>Women’s disproportionate employment in part-time, low wage and insecure work, compared with men, means the most direct way to fix inequalities in superannuation balances is to support men and women to share care responsibilities for young children, the ill, disabled and elderly family, while also bolstering the quality of essential care services. </p>
<p>This will reduce the time women spend out of the labour market doing unpaid care. Improving wages in feminised sectors and closing the gender pay gap across the economy is also critical to growing women’s retirement incomes.</p>
<h2>Missed opportunities</h2>
<p>What is not in a budget can be as important as what is. </p>
<p>Failure to improve the national paid parental leave system — now ten years old — is a significant missed opportunity. Women’s economic security depends upon a robust system of properly funded, gender neutral paid parental leave. My <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1440783319877001">recent research</a> shows young Australian men want to share the care of children with their partner and value gender equality at home. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Pregnant woman sitting at her desk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400233/original/file-20210512-17-15ieu46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400233/original/file-20210512-17-15ieu46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400233/original/file-20210512-17-15ieu46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400233/original/file-20210512-17-15ieu46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400233/original/file-20210512-17-15ieu46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400233/original/file-20210512-17-15ieu46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400233/original/file-20210512-17-15ieu46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women’s advocates have been lobbying for years for an increase in paid parental leave provisions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tracey Nearmy/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The current national system entitles the primary carer to 18 weeks of paid parental leave at the minimum wage. This needs to be expanded to at least 26 weeks, with the ability to share it easily between parents, paid at a rate closer to wage-replacement and include superannuation. This will support gender equality in the home and the workplace, and substantially improve women’s economic security in both the short and long term.</p>
<p>Lack of attention to improving wages for the mostly female care workforce is another missed opportunity. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fewer-hard-hats-more-soft-hearts-budget-pivots-to-women-and-care-159332">Fewer hard hats, more soft hearts: budget pivots to women and care</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The $17.7 billion allocated to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/budget-package-doesnt-guarantee-aged-care-residents-will-get-better-care-160611">aged care sector</a> includes money for workforce training and expansion. However, there are no measures to address the very low wages and insecure employment conditions of the predominantly women who work in the care economy. Until wages and conditions in the care sector are addressed, economic security for many Australian women will remain out of reach. </p>
<h2>This isn’t the reform we need</h2>
<p>The persistent gender inequalities embedded in Australia’s labour market, tax system and social policies were never going to be resolved in a single budget. And this budget is better than what was on offer last year. </p>
<p>But recognising women and providing a number of modest, worthy initiatives isn’t the same as delivering the structural reform in childcare, paid parental leave and insecure and low paid work that is urgently required to shift the dial on the <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/publications/australias-gender-pay-gap-statistics">gender pay gap</a> and women’s economic security. </p>
<p>There is much work to be done to promote women’s economic security and deliver a prosperous and inclusive economy. We can’t afford to keep missing opportunities for change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160768/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Hill has received funding from The Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Is the budget really as “women friendly” as the Morrison government would like us to believe?Elizabeth Hill, Associate professor, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1601022021-05-06T20:06:58Z2021-05-06T20:06:58ZThe fatherhood penalty: how parental leave policies perpetuate the gender gap (even in our ‘progressive’ universities)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398846/original/file-20210505-19-1eoo1jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3500%2C2326&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mom-dad-hold-babys-hand-291453335">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Issues that matter to families on a daily basis, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-extra-1-7-billion-for-child-care-will-help-some-it-wont-improve-affordability-for-most-160163">childcare</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/paid-parental-leave-needs-an-overhaul-if-governments-want-us-to-have-one-for-the-country-145627">parental leave</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/flexible-work-arrangements-help-women-but-only-if-they-are-also-offered-to-men-155882">flexible working arrangements</a>, are often referred to as “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-30/scott-morrison-reshuffle-women-ministers-michelle-grattan/100037044">women’s issues</a>”. This focuses policy interventions solely on mothers, limiting the solutions that are possible and concealing how these issues affect dads. </p>
<p>As part of an ongoing research project we analysed the parental leave policies of 36 Australian public universities. We have found a number of contradictions in the way parental leave is allocated to mothers and fathers. By requiring them to nominate themselves as primary and secondary carers, the effect of this system is to perpetuate the gap between genders. </p>
<p>The provisions for mothers aren’t perfect, but they do offer a meaningful amount of well-paid leave for women to bond with and care for their children. Although many universities avoid using the term maternity leave, we found it has simply been replaced with “primary carer”. The terms “primary and secondary carers” appear less gendered but are effectively proxy categorisations for the traditional <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1441358220300070">mother as caregiver and father as breadwinner</a>. </p>
<p>These terms create a divide between mothers and fathers, ranking them in an unhelpful way. It starts families on an unequal course that pigeonholes both parents. We suggest the terms should be dropped in favour of equal parental leave policies in name and in action.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/reforming-dad-leave-is-a-baby-step-towards-greater-gender-equality-144113">Reforming 'dad leave' is a baby step towards greater gender equality</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Parental inequality feeds into the gender gap</h2>
<p>In March, the <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/report/briefing-paper-womens-casual-job-surge-widens-gender-pay-gap/">Australia Institute reported</a> the gender pay gap is a staggering 31.2%. This gap between the average earnings of men and women is higher than the often <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/publications/australias-gender-pay-gap-statistics">reported</a> 13.4%, because it includes part-time employees in the calculation. Excluding part-time working women is a glaring omission, which conceals the full story of the gap between what men and women earn.</p>
<p>The rates of women employed part-time are high in Australia <a href="https://www.oecd.org/australia/Gender2017-AUS-en.pdf">compared to the OECD average</a>. Australian mothers <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gwao.12497">bear the brunt</a> of domestic tasks and often work part-time so they have time for pick-ups, drop-offs and extracurricular activities. This penalises women financially, leaving them with lower earnings, less superannuation and limited career progression. </p>
<p>We <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-parenthood-continues-to-cost-women-more-than-men-97243">know</a> parenthood is a substantial contributor to the gender pay gap — it’s known as the motherhood penalty. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-parenthood-continues-to-cost-women-more-than-men-97243">How parenthood continues to cost women more than men</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Women in professional wear carrying a briefcase as she takes a young girl to childcare" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398847/original/file-20210505-21-pctz4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398847/original/file-20210505-21-pctz4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398847/original/file-20210505-21-pctz4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398847/original/file-20210505-21-pctz4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398847/original/file-20210505-21-pctz4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398847/original/file-20210505-21-pctz4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398847/original/file-20210505-21-pctz4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">More often than not it’s women who must find time to drop off and pick up children from childcare and school.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mother-walks-her-daughter-school-holding-820067">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With a gender pay gap of over 30%, it makes sense that most families opt to keep the higher-paid dad in full-time employment. At present, <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/gender-indicators-australia/latest-release#work-and-family-balance">ABS statistics</a> show women take 93.5% of primary parental leave and men take 96.1% of secondary parental leave. But that means dads lose out on time with their kids. </p>
<p>If we are going to do something about gender inequality, we need to do something about <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1441358220300070">parental inequality</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gender-equality-at-home-takes-a-hit-when-children-arrive-118420">Gender equality at home takes a hit when children arrive</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>We undervalue caring</h2>
<p>Caring is undervalued in Australia. Our government <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/parental-leave-pay">parental leave scheme</a> is one of the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-17/fact-check-australia-paid-parental-leave/11270456">least generous</a> among OECD countries. The policy also perpetuates parental inequality. </p>
<p>The Australian government offers 18 weeks of paid leave to the primary caregiver and two weeks to the secondary caregiver paid at the minimum wage. The 18 weeks for Australian primary carers is equivalent to 7.7 weeks average earnings. The two weeks for secondary carers – overwhelmingly dads – is equivalent to half a week of average earnings.</p>
<p>One month of parental leave reserved for Australian dads paid at a meaningful rate can help to establish a more equal share of family tasks from the beginning. <a href="https://www.worldpolicycenter.org/sites/default/files/WORLD%20Report%20-%20Parental%20Leave%20OECD%20Country%20Approaches_0.pdf">Best practice</a> is 80% of earnings, with a cap. The result will be <a href="https://theconversation.com/fathers-days-increasing-the-daddy-quota-in-parental-leave-makes-everyone-happier-122047">happier families</a> overall. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fathers-days-increasing-the-daddy-quota-in-parental-leave-makes-everyone-happier-122047">Father's days: increasing the 'daddy quota' in parental leave makes everyone happier</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Father cradles young baby wrapped in towel in his arms" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398848/original/file-20210505-17-gf13c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398848/original/file-20210505-17-gf13c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398848/original/file-20210505-17-gf13c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398848/original/file-20210505-17-gf13c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398848/original/file-20210505-17-gf13c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398848/original/file-20210505-17-gf13c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398848/original/file-20210505-17-gf13c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Families and society would benefit from dads being given a meaningful amount of paid leave to bond with and care for their children.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/father-newborn-baby-working-home-office-780737860">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>There is a fatherhood penalty too</h2>
<p>Our research indicates universities’ default assumption is that women are the primary caregiver and dads are not active parents. For dads, they typically have to prove they are the primary caregiver by offering verification that the mum is employed full-time. No such proof is required of mums.</p>
<p>At some universities, even with proof, dads are entitled to less leave as primary carers than mums, or no paid leave at all. Worse still, even when the dad’s partner works for another organisation, some universities deduct the leave the partner has taken from the dad’s entitlement. This doesn’t apply to mums with a partner who works for another organisation.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399107/original/file-20210506-17-1mz6ccu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chart showing numbers of men and women who took secondary carers parental level in the years 2015-2019" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399107/original/file-20210506-17-1mz6ccu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399107/original/file-20210506-17-1mz6ccu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399107/original/file-20210506-17-1mz6ccu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399107/original/file-20210506-17-1mz6ccu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399107/original/file-20210506-17-1mz6ccu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399107/original/file-20210506-17-1mz6ccu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399107/original/file-20210506-17-1mz6ccu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>We often talk about the motherhood penalty, but maybe it is time to tackle the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01973533.2019.1652177?casa_token=bSP4_HuhmtIAAAAA:aHdYMkRmFLk2veddnTc7jSFotATmoVu86E7u7kge-mBDAq2nK9o5eU0XXlk0nMvCyAcyd7nC4vS0Gw">fatherhood penalty</a>?</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/paid-parental-leave-plan-ignores-economics-of-well-functioning-families-67549">Paid parental leave plan ignores economics of well-functioning families</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Ticking the parental leave policy box</h2>
<p>Some universities have been publicly <a href="https://www.moneymag.com.au/best-companies-parental-leave">acknowledged</a> for their progressive, generous, flexible and inclusive parental leave policies for new dads. To <a href="https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/workplace/best-workplaces-for-new-dads-revealed-20201214-p56nd1">qualify</a> among Australia’s top 20 parental leave employers, these universities must provide at least 12 weeks’ paid leave for primary carers and two weeks for secondary carers. They must also offer flexible work practices and primary carer’s leave for at least a year after the child’s birth.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13668803.2015.1021094?casa_token=HLyc4l0bgN0AAAAA%3AVM5BvVuID7_jTmGH3cXj2bvbY1pwgR6m10znRK53dPcPObisEWYfnMANUHtPzvJVrM-HB1n0hJwyIw">the devil is in the detail</a>, which sets a low bar. It allows universities to tick the “generous parental leave policy” box, without offering families real choices about how parents spend their time. </p>
<p>If universities fail to offer meaningful, easy-to-access <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1350508419838692">parental leave</a> to dads, they will fail to take it up. This indirectly strengthens the academic career model that values an employee with an unbroken commitment to work. </p>
<p>If we want to close the gender pay gap, we need to take steps towards parental equality and eradicate the terms primary and secondary caregivers. Some businesses in the <a href="https://www.medibank.com.au/livebetter/newsroom/post/medibank-rewrites-the-rules-parental-leave/">private sector</a> have done this, making parental leave policies gender-neutral, more flexible and easier for <a href="https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cdep.12275?casa_token=KsLU0BrXipIAAAAA%3ASHHj7c5qOuMWSCd_bNYZh3yHZcApXCvqOs_Ag8m2AXvJS0hoZtiRzYNRDBs7nti65N0QxE8tl4FJKh78">dads to access</a>. </p>
<p>Our findings suggest universities are not the progressive institutions many of us expect them to be. Instead, they reinforce traditional, conservative values that block parental equality. Universities, other employers and the Australian government need to value both mums and dads and offer equitable parental leave policies in the true sense of the term.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160102/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>You might expect progressive policies in our universities, but a parental leave system of primary and secondary caregivers – the first 93% women, the second 96% men – perpetuates the gender gap.Sarah Duffy, Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney UniversityDorothea Bowyer, Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney UniversityMichelle O'Shea, Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney UniversityPatrick van Esch, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, AUT Business School, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1598972021-04-29T19:12:49Z2021-04-29T19:12:49Z82% of Americans want paid maternity leave – making it as popular as chocolate<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397674/original/file-20210428-19-tmjqes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C30%2C5155%2C2276&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Most U.S. parents who take time off work to tend to newborns currently use unpaid leave.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/katie-patel-holds-her-3-month-old-daughter-lucy-as-she-news-photo/1207641553">Whitney Curti/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397692/original/file-20210428-15-1l1ftlo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397692/original/file-20210428-15-1l1ftlo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397692/original/file-20210428-15-1l1ftlo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397692/original/file-20210428-15-1l1ftlo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397692/original/file-20210428-15-1l1ftlo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397692/original/file-20210428-15-1l1ftlo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397692/original/file-20210428-15-1l1ftlo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397692/original/file-20210428-15-1l1ftlo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>The United States is <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-us-is-stingier-with-child-care-and-maternity-leave-than-the-rest-of-the-world-94770">the only wealthy nation</a> that doesn’t guarantee paid leave to mothers after they give birth or adopt a child. The vast majority of Americans would like to see that change. </p>
<p>According to a <a href="https://today.yougov.com/topics/economy/articles-reports/2021/04/15/mothers-fathers-parental-leave-poll">YouGov poll of 21,000 people conducted between March 25 and April 1, 2021</a>, 82% of Americans think employees should be able to take paid maternity leave, including for adoption. That level of support makes this benefit about as <a href="https://www.candyindustry.com/articles/88414-report-more-than-80-percent-of-adults-will-consume-chocolate-this-year">popular as chocolate</a>. In fact, more Americans want to see paid parental leave in place than would like the government to refrain from cutting their <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/03/21/retirement-social-security-and-long-term-care/">Social Security benefits</a>. </p>
<p>President Joe Biden’s proposed <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/28/fact-sheet-the-american-families-plan/">US$1.8 trillion package of new and expanded benefits</a>, which requires congressional approval, would eventually make it possible for all workers to take up to <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-bidens-paid-leave-proposal-would-benefit-workers-their-families-and-their-employers-too-159880">12 weeks of paid family leave totaling as much as $4,000 per month</a>. This leave would be for mothers and fathers alike, as well as caring for yourself or another loved one.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=NzwC_FQAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">scholars who have extensively studied</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6ayGbAcAAAAJ&hl=en">paid leave</a>, we have been struck by the persistence of Americans’ positive attitudes toward this benefit.</p>
<p>In our <a href="https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/hd4ct">newly released study</a> about attitudes among U.S. adults regarding paid leave based on data from 2012, 82% of Americans supported parents receiving paid leave – a proportion that’s identical to the recent YouGov poll. </p>
<p>Repeatedly, since then, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2017/03/23/americans-widely-support-paid-family-and-medical-leave-but-differ-over-specific-policies/">polls have found</a> that <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/27/majority-of-americans-support-progressive-policies-such-as-paid-maternity-leave-free-college.html">at least 80%</a> of Americans support paid maternity leave.</p>
<p>In an era of <a href="https://theconversation.com/political-polarization-is-about-feelings-not-facts-120397">extreme political polarization</a>, it is astounding that so many Americans can agree on anything. Strong support is even apparent across the political spectrum: <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/27/majority-of-americans-support-progressive-policies-such-as-paid-maternity-leave-free-college.html">73% of Republicans, 83% of independents and 94% of Democrats</a> back the policy. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/fact-sheet/paid-family-leave-and-sick-days-in-the-u-s/">Nine states</a> and Washington, D.C. have their own paid family leave programs, and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal-paid-parental-leave/2020/09/30/ac8e36c8-0335-11eb-b7ed-141dd88560ea_story.html">federal workers</a> got paid leave in 2020. But only <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/benefits/2020/employee-benefits-in-the-united-states-march-2020.pdf">21% of U.S. workers</a> can take paid parental leave. The lack of a federal paid leave policy that covers all employees results in the current patchwork of different policies that are difficult to understand and generally not available to most families.</p>
<p>Our research suggests that one reason why paid leave policies have not been more widespread in the U.S. is that Americans are hesitant to support government programs that may require tax hikes. For instance, slightly fewer than half of Americans endorsed using some government funding for paid leave in 2012. Yet, <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/news/2021/02/05/495504/quick-facts-paid-family-medical-leave/">there is evidence</a> that this resistance has been fading, and <a href="https://paidleave.us/state-treasurers">employers are becoming more supportive</a> of these policies as well. </p>
<p>Support for paid leave for fathers used to be relatively low. About 50% of Americans, for example, endorsed paid leave for fathers in the 2012 survey data we reviewed. With <a href="https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/wj2p6">more active fathering</a> gaining popularity since then, support for <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2017/03/23/americans-widely-support-paid-family-and-medical-leave-but-differ-over-specific-policies/">paid paternity leave</a> has been rising. Sixty-eight percent of those surveyed by YouGov in early 2021 backed paid leave for moms and dads alike.</p>
<p>Years of research underscores the benefits of paid <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/healthier-minds-happier-world/202003/the-benefits-paid-maternity-leave-maternal-and-child">maternity leave</a> for women and their families. Our research has demonstrated that when fathers take paternity leave, they tend to develop <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-019-01050-y">better relationships with their kids</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soz014">partners</a>, become <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0994-5">more actively involved in parenting</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279419000928">get divorced less frequently</a>.</p>
<p>Given that Americans have wanted paid leave for a long time and its benefits are increasingly clear, we believe that a national paid leave policy that covers all parents is an important step to improving the quality of life in America.</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159897/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Knoester received relevant funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD), Award R03HD087875.
. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard J. Petts received research funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD), Award R03HD087875. Content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.</span></em></p>Polls have consistently found robust support for this benefit, with a growing share of the public approving of paid time off for dads.Chris Knoester, Associate Professor of Sociology, The Ohio State UniversityRichard J. Petts, Professor of Sociology, Ball State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1456272020-09-13T19:51:09Z2020-09-13T19:51:09ZPaid parental leave needs an overhaul if governments want us to have ‘one for the country’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357128/original/file-20200909-14-hl43n1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=151%2C220%2C3279%2C1776&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/AlohaHawaii</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As Australia and New Zealand face the realities of slow growth, or even a decline in population, it’s time to ask if their governments are doing enough. Especially if they want to encourage people to have more babies.</p>
<p>New Zealand’s fertility rate has hit an all-time <a href="https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2008/S00108/nz-fertility-rate-is-at-all-time-low.htm">low</a> of 1.71 children per woman. The opposition National Party <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/122653707/election-2020-national-launches-first-1000-days-policy-promises-3000-for-new-parents">wants</a> to entice parents with a NZ$3,000 “baby bonus” to be spent on family services.</p>
<p>Australia’s population growth rate is <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-24/treasurer-josh-frydenberg-baby-boom-economy-recovery-coronavirus/12489678">forecast</a> to be 0.6% in 2021, its lowest since 1916.</p>
<p>Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenburg urged Australians to have more children, reminding many of then treasurer Peter Costello’s <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/budget-bonus-for-mothers-and-families-20060508-ge29qi.html">encouragement to those who can</a> to have “one for mum, one for dad and one for the country”.</p>
<p>But if governments want people to procreate for their nation, they must be prepared to help them, and that includes increases in paid parental leave. </p>
<h2>The current system</h2>
<p>New Zealand <a href="https://doi.org/10.26686/pq.v2i1.4189" title="Paid parental leave in New Zealand: a short history and future policy options">introduced</a> <a href="https://www.employment.govt.nz/leave-and-holidays/parental-leave/types-of-parental-leave/">paid parental leave</a> in 1999, first as a tax credit then as a cash payment. Over time, the length was increased from 12 to 26 weeks, currently paid to <a href="https://www.employment.govt.nz/leave-and-holidays/parental-leave/parental-leave-payment/payment-amount/">a maximum of NZ$606.46 a week</a>.</p>
<p>There is no paid parental leave offered to dads or partners (although they are legally entitled to two weeks’ unpaid leave). But mums may transfer a portion of the 26 weeks to the dad or partner.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/reforming-dad-leave-is-a-baby-step-towards-greater-gender-equality-144113">Reforming 'dad leave' is a baby step towards greater gender equality</a>
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</em>
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<p>Ten years ago, Australia was one of the last countries in the developed world to adopt government-funded maternity leave.</p>
<p>It offers the primary carer (<a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/cheaper-childcare/">99.5% of the time, the mum</a>) <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/leave/maternity-and-parental-leave/paid-parental-leave">18 weeks of paid leave at the minimum wage</a> (<a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/how-we-will-help/templates-and-guides/fact-sheets/minimum-workplace-entitlements/minimum-wages">currently A$753.80</a>). Only two weeks at the minimum wage is provided for the secondary carer.</p>
<p>When you compare the payment rates of parental leave to average salaries in each country (table below), Australia’s 18 weeks drops to an equivalent of 7.9 weeks annual average salary and New Zealand from 26 weeks to 15.5 weeks.</p>
<p><iframe id="tbVQl" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/tbVQl/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>These low leave payments appear even less generous when compared to the <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Parental-leave-and-gender-equality.pdf">OECD average</a> of 54.1 weeks of paid parental leave for mums and <a href="https://www.oecd.org/els/soc/PF2_1_Parental_leave_systems.pdf">eight weeks </a> for dads or partners. </p>
<p>While employers often top up state-paid parental leave entitlements, this is not always the case. For example, Australia’s <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Parental-leave-and-gender-equality.pdf">Workplace Gender Equality Agency</a> found more than 70% of financial services companies offered paid parental leave, but more than 80% of retail businesses did not.</p>
<h2>Earning or caring</h2>
<p>Given that dads or partners on both sides of the ditch face either no income for two weeks or less then half of the average income, it’s no wonder they choose to keep working to support their families financially.</p>
<p>We know from an Australian Human Rights Commission <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/document/publication/SWP_Report_2014.pdf">study in 2014</a> that 85% of dads and partners surveyed took up to four weeks’ leave, and more than half said they would have liked to take more to spend time with mum and newborn. There are <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jftr.12363" title="Fathering and Flexible Working Arrangements: A Systematic Interdisciplinary Review">substantial benefits</a> including an increase in the mental health and well‐being of fathers and their children as well as greater harmony for the couple. </p>
<p>Motherhood <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-parenthood-continues-to-cost-women-more-than-men-97243">penalises</a> women, contributing to significantly <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-30/superannation-young-women-fear-retirement-canberra-ywca-report/11365120">lower lifetime earnings</a>. Not to mention the “second shift” of domestic duties they do if they are balancing work and family. </p>
<p>If dads and partners spend more time with their families earlier on in their children’s lives, this increases the likelihood that household chores and caring responsibilities will be more <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.5172/jfs.2014.20.1.19" title="Changes in gender equality? Swedish fathers’ parental leave, division of childcare and housework">evenly distributed</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357134/original/file-20200909-14-9ck1iw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A mum, dad and a baby." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357134/original/file-20200909-14-9ck1iw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357134/original/file-20200909-14-9ck1iw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357134/original/file-20200909-14-9ck1iw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357134/original/file-20200909-14-9ck1iw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357134/original/file-20200909-14-9ck1iw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357134/original/file-20200909-14-9ck1iw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357134/original/file-20200909-14-9ck1iw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Happier families if proper paid leave helps both parents to be involved in early baby care.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Dragon Images</span></span>
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<p>Womens’ employment has also <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-10/women-have-lost-jobs-faster-than-men-during-coronavirus-but-are/12338598">been</a> hit harder by the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes receiving <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-09/childcare-changes-to-disproportionately-affect-women/12333398">less government assistance</a>.</p>
<p>The move to roll back free child care in Australia was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jun/08/australian-government-to-end-free-childcare-on-12-july-in-move-labor-says-will-snap-families">called</a> a “betrayal of Australian families” and “an anti-women move” by Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi.</p>
<p>In addition to the “second shift”, women bear the brunt of a “third shift” – known as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/26/gender-wars-household-chores-comic">the mental load</a>. The business of running the family is characteristically undervalued and unpaid emotional labour, which is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/15487733.2020.1776561?needAccess=true">mostly</a> taken care of by women. </p>
<p>For many dual-income families, lockdown has changed the allocation of household chores and caring responsibilities. <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-20/coronavirus-covid19-domestic-work-housework-gender-gap-women-men/12369708">Research</a> shows the gap between men and women has narrowed.</p>
<h2>More women in the workplace</h2>
<p>In the upcoming New Zealand election, it will be interesting to see how the different parties deal with supporting families, the gender pay gap and female workforce participation.</p>
<p>If ever an example was needed to show how satisfying a non-traditional care arrangement can be for both parents, consider <a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/stayathome-dad-to-help-jacinda-ardern-be-pm--a-mum-20180119-h0kz9h">stay-at-home dad Clarke Gayford</a>, who supports Jacinda Ardern to be New Zealand’s prime minister.</p>
<p>Our previous <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1441358220300070" title="Increasing parental leave uptake: A systems social marketing approach">research</a> found government policy alone does not increase the uptake of dads or partners taking parental leave. Changing workplace norms to support them is a key factor in creating flexible work arrangements and increasing parental leave uptake. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fathers-days-increasing-the-daddy-quota-in-parental-leave-makes-everyone-happier-122047">Father's days: increasing the 'daddy quota' in parental leave makes everyone happier</a>
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<p>Working from home has made <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/there-s-a-silver-lining-for-fathers-in-the-covid-crisis-20200424-p54n1z.html">fatherhood</a> more visible and increased the time some Australian dads <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-20/coronavirus-covid19-domestic-work-housework-gender-gap-women-men/12369708">spend</a> caring for their children. </p>
<p>In a post-pandemic world, care responsibilities can no longer be labelled a private matter. New Zealand and Australia both have parental leave policies that fail to offer families real choices about care arrangements.</p>
<p>Dads and partners need their own leave entitlements and greater acceptance of their <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jftr.12363" title="Fathering and Flexible Working Arrangements: A Systematic Interdisciplinary Review">caring responsibilities</a> in the workplace. These changes will challenge caring as women’s work, ease the burden on women and may even boost the fertility rate.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145627/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If governments are looking for a post-pandemic “baby boom” to help populations grow, then they should increase the amount and duration of paid parental leave for both mums and partners.Sarah Duffy, Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney UniversityMichelle O'Shea, Senior Lecturer Management, Western Sydney UniversityPatrick van Esch, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, AUT Business School, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1441132020-08-09T20:12:11Z2020-08-09T20:12:11ZReforming ‘dad leave’ is a baby step towards greater gender equality<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/351677/original/file-20200807-24-17etgov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C385%2C2151%2C1409&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Grattan Institute <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/cheaper-childcare/">research published today</a> shows the average 25-year-old woman who goes on to have a child can expect to earn A$2 million less by the time she is 70 than the average 25-year-old man who becomes a father. For childless women and men, the lifetime gap is about A$300,000. </p>
<p>This earnings gap leaves mothers particularly vulnerable if their relationship breaks down.</p>
<h2>Unpaid work still falls largely on women</h2>
<p>The income gap between mothers and fathers is typically due to women reducing their paid work to take on most of the caring and household work. </p>
<p>Even before COVID-19, Australian women were doing 2.2 fewer hours of paid work on average but <a href="https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=GENDER_EMP">2.3 more hours of unpaid work</a> than men every day.</p>
<p>The following chart shows how women’s and men’s time use diverges after the birth of their first child. Mothers typically reduce their paid work to take on the lion’s share of caring and household work. The change for fathers is less dramatic. They continue their paid work and take on some extra caring. </p>
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<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/351685/original/file-20200807-24-1yh6hqx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/351685/original/file-20200807-24-1yh6hqx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/351685/original/file-20200807-24-1yh6hqx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/351685/original/file-20200807-24-1yh6hqx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/351685/original/file-20200807-24-1yh6hqx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/351685/original/file-20200807-24-1yh6hqx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/351685/original/file-20200807-24-1yh6hqx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/351685/original/file-20200807-24-1yh6hqx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Grattan Institute</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>But habits stick. Even a decade after the birth of the first child, the average mother does more caring and twice as much household work as the average father.</p>
<p>When one parent does most of the caring, they become more confident in looking after the child. <a href="https://www.quarterlyessay.com.au/essay/2019/09/men-at-work">They know</a> how to change the nappies, what food the child likes, and when nap time is. This knowledge tends to compound, leaving one parent with most of the parenting load. </p>
<h2>Dad leave can help</h2>
<p>Policy change can help different habits to form. Evidence from around the world – including <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0891243213503900">North America</a>, <a href="https://skemman.is/bitstream/1946/22378/1/a.2013.9.2.4.pdf">Iceland</a>, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-social-policy/article/parental-leave-and-domestic-work-of-mothers-and-fathers-a-longitudinal-study-of-two-reforms-in-west-germany/0091E9A20481C242D73F044FDDDBAC34">Germany</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5415087/">Britain and Australia</a> – shows fathers who take a significant period of parental leave when their baby is born are more likely to be more involved in caring and other housework years later. </p>
<p>But the Australian government’s paid parental leave scheme encourages a single “primary carer” model. The primary carer is eligible for 18 weeks of <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/parental-leave-pay">Parental Leave Pay</a> at minimum wage (as well as any employer entitlements). </p>
<p>In 99.5% of cases that leave is <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/cheaper-childcare/">taken by mothers</a>. Secondary carer leave, called “<a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/dad-and-partner-pay">Dad and Partner Pay</a>”, is two weeks at minimum wage.</p>
<p>Many other countries provide much longer periods of parental leave for fathers and partners, sometimes referred to as “daddy leave”, as the following table shows.</p>
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<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/351688/original/file-20200807-16-lw4nw0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/351688/original/file-20200807-16-lw4nw0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/351688/original/file-20200807-16-lw4nw0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/351688/original/file-20200807-16-lw4nw0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/351688/original/file-20200807-16-lw4nw0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/351688/original/file-20200807-16-lw4nw0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/351688/original/file-20200807-16-lw4nw0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/351688/original/file-20200807-16-lw4nw0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Grattan Institute</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>Iceland, for example, provides three months’ paid leave to each parent and a further three months for them to divide as they wish. Sweden’s scheme entitles each parent to three months of parental leave, plus ten months parents can divide as they wish.</p>
<p>The schemes with the highest take-up typically pay 70% or more of the recipient’s normal earnings, as opposed to the minimum wage Australia’s scheme pays. </p>
<p>But a generous scheme is still no guarantee of success. </p>
<p>Social expectations about different roles for men and women at work and home can still be a barrier. This appears evident in Japan and South Korea. Despite generous schemes offering 52 weeks of leave for fathers, paid at more than two-thirds of normal earnings, just <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2020/01/japan-paternity-leave-koizumi/605344/">6% of Japanese fathers</a> and <a href="https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3048455/south-koreas-paternity-leave-taboo-blame-it-confucius">13% of Korean fathers</a> take parental leave.</p>
<h2>A modest policy proposal</h2>
<p>For a “daddy leave” scheme to have the best chance of success in Australia, the government would need to spend a lot of money and political capital. </p>
<p>Emulating a best-practice parental leave scheme like Iceland’s would cost at least A$7 billion a year. </p>
<p>A scheme where government payments are linked to an individual’s normal salary would encourage take-up. But the cost would dwarf the <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/publications-articles-corporate-publications-annual-reports/department-of-social-services-annual-report-2018-19-0">A$2.3 billion</a> the federal government currently spends on parental leave, and the biggest benefits would go to wealthy families. Almost all Australian government payments are strictly means-tested, so payments proportional to salary would be a radical policy departure.</p>
<p>One option is a paid parental leave scheme that gives parents <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/cheaper-childcare/">more flexibility to share leave</a>. Six weeks reserved for each parent plus 12 weeks to share between them would allow mothers to still choose to take the 18 weeks now provided to primary carers. But families could also make other choices, and fathers would get more time early on to bond with their child and develop their parenting skills. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-sitcom-dads-still-so-inept-139737">Why are sitcom dads still so inept?</a>
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<p>This would be a relatively cheap reform. If paid at minimum wage like the existing scheme, it would cost at most an extra A$600 million a year. </p>
<h2>Baby steps to equality</h2>
<p>Reforming Australia’s paid parental leave is not the first and best option to increase women’s workforce participation. Our research shows changes such as <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/cheaper-childcare/">making child care more affordable</a> are likely to deliver more bang for buck. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/permanently-raising-the-child-care-subsidy-is-an-economic-opportunity-too-good-to-miss-136856">Permanently raising the Child Care Subsidy is an economic opportunity too good to miss</a>
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<p>But there is still a case for modest reforms to parental leave. Though it might not be <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0958928712440201?journalCode=espa">a game-changer</a> for women’s workforce participation, if constructed properly it will have some effect. </p>
<p>This is supported by evidence from Quebec’s parental leave scheme. Introduced in 2006, it included five non-transferable weeks for fathers, paid at about 70% of their usual salary. A <a href="https://cepr.org/sites/default/files/events/papers/4576_PATNAIK%20-%20Reserving%20Time%20for%20Daddy.pdf">2014 study</a> found it led to mothers, on average, doing an extra hour of paid work a day, earning an extra US$5,000 a year. </p>
<p>More fathers taking parental leave is also worthwhile in its own right, promoting greater sharing of the unpaid workload within families and giving fathers more time with their kids.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fathers-days-increasing-the-daddy-quota-in-parental-leave-makes-everyone-happier-122047">Father's days: increasing the 'daddy quota' in parental leave makes everyone happier</a>
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<p>Think of it as a baby step towards greater time and earnings equality between women and men in Australia.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144113/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Grattan Institute began with contributions to its endowment of $15 million from each of the Federal and Victorian Governments, $4 million from BHP Billiton, and $1 million from NAB. In order to safeguard its independence, Grattan Institute’s board controls this endowment. The funds are invested and contribute to funding Grattan Institute's activities. Grattan Institute also receives funding from corporates, foundations, and individuals to support its general activities as disclosed on its website.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Danielle Wood and Kate Griffiths do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Modest changes to Australia’s paid parental provision can help address the gender gap in unpaid and paid work between mothers and fathers.Owain Emslie, Senior Associate, Grattan InstituteDanielle Wood, Chief executive officer, Grattan InstituteKate Griffiths, Fellow, Grattan InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1305012020-02-07T13:50:19Z2020-02-07T13:50:19ZEmployment gaps cause career trouble, especially for former stay-at-home parents<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313582/original/file-20200204-41490-ip2ut6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It is harder for stay-at-home moms to return to work than for stay-at-home dads.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/african-mother-her-smiling-daughter-using-536552224">Liderina/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Understanding how employment gaps can affect careers is especially relevant given the recent policy discussions around <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/12/11/21004707/paid-parental-leave-federal-workers-space-force">paid family leave</a> and <a href="https://www.ffyf.org/cnn-debate-2020-candidates-agree-on-child-care/">childcare access</a> in the U.S.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.kateweisshaar.com/research">I am a sociologist</a> whose research examines what happens to people’s careers after they take time out of work. I find that gaps in employment can negatively affect future career prospects in multiple ways, particularly for those who left work for childcare responsibilities.</p>
<h2>No support for working parents</h2>
<p>Decisions to leave work often happen because working parents in the U.S. <a href="http://doi.org/10.1257/aer.103.3.251">lack support</a>.</p>
<p>With <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/12/16/u-s-lacks-mandated-paid-parental-leave/">no mandated paid parental leave</a>, the <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/early-childhood/reports/2019/03/28/467488/child-care-crisis-keeping-women-workforce/">high costs of childcare</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0730888413515691">long work hours</a> and the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00380253.2016.1246905">spillover of work</a> into other parts of life – for example, checking emails or being “on call” – parents in the U.S. <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691178851/making-motherhood-work">may find themselves in a bind</a>.</p>
<p>If a paycheck doesn’t cover the cost of childcare, or if the demands of both work and family seem irreconcilable, something has to give. </p>
<p>It is in these contexts that some parents – <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/famee.nr0.htm">more often mothers than fathers</a> – decide to leave work to care for their children, even if temporarily.</p>
<p>My research shows that having an employment lapse can have lasting consequences on careers. I explore this finding, first, in terms of hiring and employers’ perceptions of job applicants and, second, in an article with <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=VpSwBpoAAAAJ&hl=en">Tania Cabello-Hutt</a> examining the impact on wages.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313538/original/file-20200204-41485-1dw4mth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313538/original/file-20200204-41485-1dw4mth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313538/original/file-20200204-41485-1dw4mth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313538/original/file-20200204-41485-1dw4mth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313538/original/file-20200204-41485-1dw4mth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313538/original/file-20200204-41485-1dw4mth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313538/original/file-20200204-41485-1dw4mth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Politicians introduced paid family leave legislation during a news conference in March 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/parental-leave?agreements=pa:77130&phrase=parental%20leave&sort=best#license">Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Parents with employment gaps perceived as unemployable</h2>
<p>In the <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/wss5qdJRASWnqYiQiBpp/full">first study</a>, I examined how employers perceive an employment gap and if these perceptions are different if the lapse resulted from childcare responsibilities rather than unemployment from a job loss.</p>
<p>I created fictitious resumes for three kinds of job-seekers: continuously employed, unemployed and stay-at-home parents. I used names to signal gender, and the application materials indicate that each of the applicants was a parent.</p>
<p>Importantly, all other skills and features of the resumes were similar across applicants, and both unemployed and stay-at-home parents were out of work for 18 months. I then sent 3,374 of these fictitious resumes to real job openings across 50 cities in the U.S. and recorded when applicants received a “callback” from employers, an interview request or other positive response.</p>
<p>I found that 15.2% of employed applicants, 9.3% of unemployed applicants and just 5.1% of stay-at-home parents received a callback.</p>
<p>In other words, both unemployed and stay-at-home parent applicants faced callback penalties compared with applicants with no employment gaps, but stay-at-home parents faced a much larger penalty. I found similar effects for both mothers and fathers.</p>
<p><iframe id="Tj9sd" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Tj9sd/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>To understand why employers viewed stay-at-home parent job applicants negatively, I conducted a survey. The respondents viewed resumes that were similar to those sent to real employers.</p>
<p>Many survey respondents perceived both unemployed and stay-at-home parent applicants to be less capable than continuously employed applicants, which makes sense if there are concerns about these applicants’ skills becoming rusty while not working.</p>
<p>I also found that respondents viewed stay-at-home parents as less reliable, less deserving of a job and – the biggest penalty – less committed to work, compared with unemployed applicants.</p>
<p>These findings are consistent with employers’ tendency to view stay-at-home parents as not dedicated to work, perceiving them as violating professional expectations that employees should prioritize work over other areas of life – what sociologists call “<a href="https://hbr.org/product/updating-the-image-of-the-ideal-worker/ROT345-PDF-ENG">ideal worker norms</a>.”</p>
<h2>Wage gaps for nonsteady employment</h2>
<p>In the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-019-00845-8">second study</a>, we looked at the common employment trajectories that men and women follow from ages 22 to 50 using <a href="https://www.bls.gov/nls/nlsy79.htm">national data</a> on the work histories of about 6,000 individuals.</p>
<p>While many people are employed steadily throughout their careers, we found that a substantial group of people – about 32% – have low work attachment at the beginning, middle or end of their careers or frequent gaps and reductions in employment at multiple points in their careers.</p>
<p>We also found that gender, race, ethnicity and social class background are associated with these more intermittent trajectories.</p>
<p>Next, we looked at whether and how these long-term career trajectories influence wages later in life, at ages 45 to 50. We found that compared with those who work continuously, employment paths with the most gaps experience up to 40% lower wages later in life.</p>
<p>These paths are the ones most commonly associated with women and mothers taking time out of work for family reasons.</p>
<h2>Family leave and transitioning back to work</h2>
<p>So why is it important to know what happens to people after they experience employment gaps for family and other reasons?</p>
<p>This research shows that employment gaps can compound already existing inequality in the labor market, particularly for women and mothers compared with men and fathers.</p>
<p>The lack of accommodating work policies for parents and affordable childcare can lead to an <a href="http://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12013">all-or-nothing work environment</a>.</p>
<p>In this environment, gender inequality in caregiving is not the only issue. There are additional burdens to overcome for those who want to <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520290808/opting-back-in">return to work after a family-related employment lapse</a>.</p>
<p>Of course, paid family leave and affordable child care won’t solve all of the problems with gender, family and work inequality. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/centers/cwf/research/publications/researchreports/Expanded%20Paid%20Parental%20Leave-%20Study%20Findings%20FINAL%2010-31-19.pdf">recent study</a> found that while new parent employees were hugely appreciative of extended family leave offered at their companies, they still found the transition back to work to be challenging.</p>
<p>But in my assessment, access to paid family leave and affordable child care are two policies that could have a <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2019/06/27/paid-leave-as-fuel-for-economic-growth/">transformative effect</a> on gender inequality in the labor market and help reduce the <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691178851/making-motherhood-work">many burdens</a> faced by working parents.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130501/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Weisshaar does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Stay-at-home parents have a hard time reentering the workforce after spending time away.Kate Weisshaar, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1220472019-08-30T04:16:22Z2019-08-30T04:16:22ZFather’s days: increasing the ‘daddy quota’ in parental leave makes everyone happier<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290244/original/file-20190830-115401-1bz895j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=282%2C179%2C3999%2C2561&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There's increasing evidence that encouraging fathers to take paternity leave has positive, perhaps even surprising, results.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>“To all the Dads in Australia,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison <a href="https://www.liberal.org.au/latest-news/2018/09/02/pm-scott-morrisons-fathers-day-message-all-daggy-dads">declared in his Father’s Day message</a> last year, “keep up the good work, because the kids of our country need the best dads possible.”</p>
<p>What can a government do to encourage the best fathers possible? The single greatest gift might be functional parental leave policies that actually encourage men to take time off and be active early in family life. </p>
<p>Right now paternity leave in Australia isn’t working for fathers. Just <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/publications-articles-corporate-publications-annual-reports/department-of-social-services-annual-report-2017-18">one in four</a> use the two weeks’ leave available to them as “partner pay” in the first year of a child’s life. The obvious reason is it is paid at the minimum wage, which means it doesn’t resolve the conflict that fathers face in choosing between financially supporting or spending time with their families. </p>
<p>We need to bridge the gap, because there’s increasing evidence that encouraging fathers to take paternity leave has positive, perhaps even surprising, results.</p>
<h2>Increasing the daddy quota</h2>
<p>Parental leave entitlements are a combination of government and workplace arrangements, so what’s available to dads can differ. The minimum entitlement in Australia, as mentioned, is the federal government-paid “<a href="https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/dad-and-partner-pay">Dad and Partner Pay</a>” (DaPP). The government also provides 18 weeks’ pay at the minimum wage to the primary care giver, but fathers claim this in <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4125.0%7ESep%202017%7EMedia%20Release%7EOne%20in%2020%20dads%20take%20primary%20parental%20leave%20(Media%20Release)%7E11">just 5%</a> of cases.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/paid-parental-leave-plan-ignores-economics-of-well-functioning-families-67549">Paid parental leave plan ignores economics of well-functioning families</a>
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<p>The tendency is for mothers to also take the bulk of leave entitlements in “shared parental leave” systems, where leave is granted to the couple, who then decide how to split it. New Zealand and Canada have such systems, and the evidence is they do not encourage fathers to take leave. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289990/original/file-20190829-184207-12ea3q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289990/original/file-20190829-184207-12ea3q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289990/original/file-20190829-184207-12ea3q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289990/original/file-20190829-184207-12ea3q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289990/original/file-20190829-184207-12ea3q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289990/original/file-20190829-184207-12ea3q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289990/original/file-20190829-184207-12ea3q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Studies suggest increasing paternity leave is associated with both fathers and mothers being happier.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>The best example is probably Sweden, a pioneer of parental leave. It introduced generous entitlements <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/rsa/456">in 1974</a>, paying up to six months in shared leave. But just 10 days were reserved for dads. Just <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/10/world/europe/10iht-sweden.html">6% of fathers</a> took up any of the shared leave. </p>
<p>In 1995 Sweden upped the “daddy quota” to bring more balance to the scheme. Now the Swedish government mandates <a href="https://sweden.se/quickfact/parental-leave/">three months’</a> leave as the exclusive right of either parent, with a total of 480 days in shared parental leave. </p>
<h2>Emerging evidence</h2>
<p>There is increasing evidence of the benefits of ensuring a “daddy quota”. </p>
<p>A new study tracking the outcomes of paternity leave in <a href="https://www.oecd.org/policy-briefs/parental-leave-where-are-the-fathers.pdf">South Korea since 2007</a> concludes that taking paternity leave is positively associated with life satisfaction for both <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001879119300685">fathers and mothers</a>. </p>
<p>Iceland introduced four week’s dedicated paternity leave in 2001. A <a href="https://arnaolafsson.weebly.com/uploads/2/3/7/5/23754531/marital_stability.pdf">2018 study</a> of 600 families compared the relationship stability of couples who had children just after the reform with those who had children just before (and who were therefore ineligible). The researchers found fathers taking the leave was associated with significantly less <a href="https://arnaolafsson.weebly.com/uploads/2/3/7/5/23754531/marital_stability.pdf">relationship breakdown</a>. Their divorce rate was 8.3% lower five years, and 3.4% 15 years later. </p>
<p>One probable reason for these surprising results is indicated in a 2014 Swedish study that suggests fathers’ taking more parental leave leads to greater later sharing of childcare and housework. The study, based on surveys of 235 women and 154 men, found there was subsequently <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.5172/jfs.2014.20.1.19?casa_token=877yX7qMwUMAAAAA:TtAfPXwWm6aJamxJXSuj1DukXpAK233SetsQzHg-gKUoRDlJmMDSGHV272vIn2cQcVj0qr4gB0OPKw">more equal division of responsibilities</a> when dads took more than a month’s paternity leave.</p>
<h2>Improving the system</h2>
<p>Given the opportunity, most fathers would like to take more family leave. In a 2014 <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/document/publication/SWP_Report_2014.pdf">survey</a> of 1,000 new Australian dads who had taken DaPP leave, 75% said they wished they could have taken more leave. In more than half the cases, the reason was affordability. More than a quarter also reported experiencing discrimination when requesting or taking parental leave.</p>
<p>Given the emerging evidence of long-term positive benefits for families, we need to talk about ways to increase the daddy quota.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fathers-also-want-to-have-it-all-study-says-60910">Fathers also want to ‘have it all,’ study says</a>
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<p>Designing parental leave systems isn’t easy. Getting the balance right is hard. There are significant equity debates. Who pays? Is it more equitable to pay a flat or minimum rate? Is it more effective to peg the rate to an individual’s salary? Should there be a deadline on when leave is taken? The Swedish system, for example, gives parent seven years, recognising that children’s needs don’t diminish once they can feed themselves.</p>
<p>But if we truly want the best dads possible, we should be discussing how to support them with more than words.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122047/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Duffy receives funding from the Vice Chancellor of Western Sydney University's Gender Equality Fund</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aila Khan and Patrick van Esch do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Encouraging fathers to take paternity leave has positive, perhaps even surprising, results.Sarah Duffy, Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney UniversityAila Khan, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Western Sydney UniversityPatrick van Esch, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Kennesaw State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1184202019-08-08T13:13:40Z2019-08-08T13:13:40ZGender equality at home takes a hit when children arrive<p>In the early 20th century, American women won the right to vote. Soon, women’s participation in the workforce, education and political life <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0891243210361475?casa_token=PgWe6qUpw8oAAAAA:-OyN7djfUEDeAUPYTfyD4S-Lb4w7VF88wd1PWHVF-hviNbtJ2erWMBX6NhJep6LUjXIudHR4Vqw">all increased dramatically</a>. </p>
<p>This gender revolution took place not just in the U.S., but in many countries throughout the world.</p>
<p>But beginning in 1980, the changes in opportunities, status and attitudes that were closing the gap between men and women <a href="https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2017/01/23/gender-gaps-and-the-stalled-gender-revolution/">began to slow</a>. Since the mid-1990s, <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/658853">there’s been little change</a>.</p>
<p>Gender equality at home among heterosexual couples has progressed even more slowly than in public life. The family theorist <a href="http://sph.umd.edu/department/fmsc/bio/18819">Frances Goldscheider</a> has argued that the goal of moving women into what has traditionally been men’s territory in the paid labor force is just <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279057747_The_Gender_Revolution_A_Framework_for_Understanding_Changing_Family_and_Demographic_Behavior">the “first half” of what she calls the gender revolution.</a> </p>
<p>Without progress on the “second half” of that revolution – men picking up an equal share of work at home – other efforts, such as equal pay, won’t be enough to make the work that women and men do equitable.</p>
<p>My colleagues <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=TSLxVR8AAAAJ&hl=en">and I</a> at the World Family Map project collaborated with Goldscheider to understand whether having children made the goal of fairly dividing work at home more elusive.</p>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10680-018-09515-8">We found</a>,
<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/30130732?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">consistent with previous research</a>, that having children at home made men and women behave more traditionally. Women cleaned, cooked and cared for the children far more then the men did.</p>
<p>But we also found lots of variation across countries in how much children “traditionalized” couples’ division of labor. We wanted to know why the presence of children mattered more for how couples divided work in some countries – like Finland and Lithuania – than in others – like Norway and Latvia.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286621/original/file-20190801-169680-1olo0xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286621/original/file-20190801-169680-1olo0xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286621/original/file-20190801-169680-1olo0xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286621/original/file-20190801-169680-1olo0xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286621/original/file-20190801-169680-1olo0xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286621/original/file-20190801-169680-1olo0xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286621/original/file-20190801-169680-1olo0xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How much have women’s rights progressed in the U.S. since the women’s suffrage movement?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://theconversation.createsend.com/campaigns/createSend/snapshot.aspx?cID=94FAC45CD92132F32540EF23F30FEDED">Library of Congress</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Surprising answers</h2>
<p>We looked at how men and women divided their time between paid work, childcare and housework using <a href="https://dbk.gesis.org/dbksearch/sdesc2.asp?ll=10&notabs=&af=&nf=&search=&search2=&db=e&no=5900">the most recent International Social Survey Programme’s data on family and changing gender roles</a>. </p>
<p>The data covers 35 countries representing northern countries as well as relatively wealthy countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. </p>
<p>We looked at several factors that we believed might explain why couples divided up household work the way they do, including <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ny.gnp.pcap.pp.cd">national income</a>, <a href="https://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS_242615/lang--en/index.htm">national family policy</a> and <a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-gender-gap-report-2018">national gender equality</a>. </p>
<p>We used the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-gender-gap-report-2018">Global Gender Gap Index</a>, which measures equality in health, education, the labor force and political representation, to measure gaps between men and women in public life. </p>
<p>When we began our analysis we thought that children would be less of a factor in how labor was divided at home in countries with more gender equality in the public sphere.</p>
<p>We were wrong.</p>
<p>In 76% of Northern European childless couples, the women put in equal or more paid hours than the man did and he put in equal or more domestic hours than she did. In other words, 3 out of 4 couples were not gender traditional in their division of labor.</p>
<p>But only 45% of Northern European couples with children practiced a non-traditional division of labor. </p>
<p>In comparison, 31% of childless couples in Central and South America divide labor more equally. But having a child doesn’t change the status quo by much. Just 21% of couples in this region with children divide labor more equally. </p>
<p>Where both partners typically work outside of the home, children typically contribute to a “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2014/08/06/the-second-shift-at-25-q-a-with-arlie-hochschild/">second shift</a>” much more for women than for men. This means that children present a greater obstacle to a gender revolution in its later stages than one that is just getting underway. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286624/original/file-20190801-169718-1pnp6ag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286624/original/file-20190801-169718-1pnp6ag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286624/original/file-20190801-169718-1pnp6ag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286624/original/file-20190801-169718-1pnp6ag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286624/original/file-20190801-169718-1pnp6ag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286624/original/file-20190801-169718-1pnp6ag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286624/original/file-20190801-169718-1pnp6ag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Parents share work at home differently in different countries.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Sweden-Daddy-Leave/b3375115d12c409fbffd8e4be5a8692d/27/0">AP Photo/Niklas Larsson</a></span>
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<h2>A solution?</h2>
<p>The most surprising finding in our analysis was that the loss of momentum toward gender equality differed among countries. We wondered if government policies could be an influence. </p>
<p>Generous parental leave that could be used by either parent didn’t seem to affect things – the workload still broke down into traditional roles if there were children. </p>
<p>Legislation providing fathers with legal protection if they took unpaid parental leave didn’t move the needle, either.</p>
<p>We tested many other policies that didn’t seem effective.</p>
<p>Only one specific family policy stood out: non-transferable paid paternal leave – <a href="https://apolitical.co/solution_article/norways-daddy-quota-means-90-of-fathers-take-parental-leave/">also known as a “father’s quota.”</a></p>
<p>When use-it-or-lose-it paid leave was offered, men participated more at home.</p>
<p><iframe id="siqiS" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/siqiS/4/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Among couples with children across our 35 countries, 28% practiced a modern division of labor without the father’s quota, and 34% with it. This difference is significant, and its magnitude is almost exactly the same as the change associated with an individual moving to a higher level of education. </p>
<p>Fathers’ quotas emerged in <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/300776296_Norway_The_making_of_the_father's_quota">Norway in 1993</a>. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35225982">Sweden soon followed suit</a>. By 2012, <a href="https://www.oecd.org/els/family/Backgrounder-fathers-use-of-leave.pdf">fathers’ quotas were also found</a> in Belgium, France, Portugal, Latvia and Japan. </p>
<h2>Forcing changes in cultural norms</h2>
<p>Our data doesn’t tell us why the paternal policies seem to help close the gender gap. </p>
<p>If fathers’ quotas were created by policymakers in response to progressive values – if they simply reflected gender norms rather than changing them – we would expect to see those values reflected in a couples’ division of labor whether or not children were in the household. </p>
<p>But the policy does not impact gender equality in domestic labor among the childless in those countries. About half of childless couples practiced a modern division of labor regardless of whether there was a father’s quota – 49% without, 51% with. </p>
<p>And we can’t prove how a father’s quota influences behavior. </p>
<p>But we know that forces that push men and women into “non-traditional” roles may have lasting results if the rewards of the new behaviors are self-reinforcing. One example: When men enjoy nurturing their children and therefore want to do more of it.</p>
<p>This worked during World War I, when seeing women <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z9bf9j6#z8rv87h">plow fields, deliver mail, enforce laws, drive buses and assemble munitions</a> countered the stereotypes of women as <a href="http://www.crusadeforthevote.org/naows-opposition">too fragile or disinterested in non-domestic work</a>. </p>
<p>If the gender revolution is stalled or stalling because men are seen as ill suited for domestic work, a paid benefit that makes their paternity leave more of a cultural norm may be the force that changes society’s perceptions and behavior.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118420/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laurie DeRose received support from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Center for Child Health and Human Development grant P2C-HD041041, Maryland Population Research Center.</span></em></p>Does having children make the goal of fairly dividing work at home more elusive?Laurie DeRose, Adjunct Professor, Georgetown UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1184922019-08-05T12:56:03Z2019-08-05T12:56:03ZHuman breast milk may help babies tell time via circadian signals from mom<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286780/original/file-20190802-117898-1hrwqt6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C0%2C4939%2C3612&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Is a bottle of morning milk at night the equivalent of turning on all the lights at bedtime?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/frozen-breast-milk-leg-baby-lying-742203790?studio=1">comzeal images/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Human breast milk is more than a meal – it’s also a clock, providing time-of-day information to infants. The composition of breast milk changes across the day, giving energizing morning milk a different cocktail of ingredients than soothing evening milk. Researchers believe this “chrononutrition” may help program infants’ emerging circadian biology, the internal timekeeper that allows babies to distinguish day from night. </p>
<p>What happens, though, when babies drink milk that does not come directly from the breast, but is pumped at different times of day and stored in advance of feeding? Scientists have rarely considered the potential effects of “mistimed” milk on infants’ development, but the implications are potentially far-reaching.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=q676bXMAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">As psychologists</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hI28SJIAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">who study</a> the <a href="http://jhahnholbrook.wixsite.com/latchlab">biology of parenting</a>, we teamed up with <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=LKbQRd4AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Laura Glynn</a>, <a href="https://www.choc.org/video/nutrition-caroline-steele/">Caroline Steele</a> and <a href="https://www.choc.org/providers/neonatology/christine-bixby-md/">Caroline Bixby</a> to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-019-0368-x">investigate the evidence</a> for breast milk as a timekeeper.</p>
<h2>Body clocks over the course of the day</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/what-circadian-rhythm">Sleep</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190425143607.htm">eating</a> and <a href="https://hbr.org/2015/01/the-ideal-work-schedule-as-determined-by-circadian-rhythms">energy levels</a> all show circadian rhythms, which means they follow a daily cycle. As any parent who has sleepwalked through a 3 a.m. feeding knows, infants are not born with these rhythms fully set. Instead, their sense of day and night <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/neo.4-11-e298">develops over the first weeks</a> and months of life, thanks to cues like sunlight and darkness.</p>
<p>Babies vary: Some show predictable circadian fluctuations in hormones linked with alertness, sleep and appetite, and can sleep for long stretches shortly after birth, whereas others seem to have their daily rhythms upside-down for months. Delays in the development of circadian biology can increase the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0306-9877(92)90180-K">risk of colic</a> and lead to <a href="https://doi.org/10.2147/NSS.S125992">growth and feeding problems</a>.</p>
<p>But scientists know very little about why circadian biology comes online on such different schedules for different infants. Breast milk may help program infant circadian rhythms, helping to explain why some parents of newborns enjoy long full nights of sleep, whereas others struggle to get their infants on a schedule.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286781/original/file-20190802-117871-6ljvhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286781/original/file-20190802-117871-6ljvhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286781/original/file-20190802-117871-6ljvhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286781/original/file-20190802-117871-6ljvhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286781/original/file-20190802-117871-6ljvhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286781/original/file-20190802-117871-6ljvhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286781/original/file-20190802-117871-6ljvhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286781/original/file-20190802-117871-6ljvhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An evening feeding might be sharing ‘time for bed’ signals from mom’s body with baby.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-beautiful-mother-breastfeeding-her-newborn-707981059?studio=1">Tomsickova Tatyana/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Milk in flux</h2>
<p>Breast milk changes dramatically over the course of the day. For example, levels of cortisol – a hormone that promotes alertness – are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10911-017-9375-x">three times higher in morning milk</a> than in evening milk. Melatonin, which promotes sleep and digestion, can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-011-1659-3">barely be detected in daytime milk</a>, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1210/jcem.77.3.8370707">rises in the evening</a> and peaks around midnight.</p>
<p>Night milk also contains <a href="https://doi.org/10.1179/147683009X388922">higher levels of certain DNA building blocks</a> which help promote healthy sleep. Day milk, by contrast, has <a href="https://doi.org/10.2478/v10136-012-0020-0">more activity-promoting amino acids</a> than night milk. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10517-005-0500-2">Iron in milk peaks at around noon</a>; vitamin E peaks in the evening. Minerals like magnesium, zinc, potassium and sodium are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3335969">all highest in the morning</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09291010903407441">Daytime milk may pack a special immune punch</a>. Among mothers who provided researchers with milk samples across the first month postpartum, immune components – including key antibodies and white blood cells – looked higher in day milk compared to night milk. Another study found higher levels of a component important for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09291016.2015.1056434">immune system communication in day milk</a> compared to night milk.</p>
<p>While it’s clear that milk changes over the course of the day, scientists know little about what this means for infant health.</p>
<p>Researchers do know that the hormones and immune components in breast milk are passed along to infants, and that infants are starting to develop and refine their own circadian rhythms during the first months of life. It’s plausible that the chronosignals in breast milk would help to shape infants’ own circadian biology. Differences in infant feeding patterns might help explain why there’s such variability in the development of these daily rhythms from one infant to another.</p>
<h2>Mistimed messages in milk?</h2>
<p>For most of human history, breast milk could only be consumed directly from the breast, meaning that milk was always ingested right when it was produced. Now, with the advent of breast pumps and refrigeration, that’s no longer the case. According to a 2005-2007 survey, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2008-1315c">over 85% of breastfeeding mothers in the U.S.</a> have pumped their milk.</p>
<p>What happens when babies drink night milk in the morning, or morning milk in the late afternoon? We don’t know for sure, because this question has been woefully understudied. Offering an infant a bottle of morning milk in the evening, with its high cortisol and low melatonin, might be the nutritional equivalent of flipping the lights on right before bedtime.</p>
<p>If chronosignals in milk do indeed help to calibrate infant circadian biology, then infants who drink “mistimed” milk may struggle more with sleep, digestion and development.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286782/original/file-20190802-117887-e7z8ep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286782/original/file-20190802-117887-e7z8ep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286782/original/file-20190802-117887-e7z8ep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286782/original/file-20190802-117887-e7z8ep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286782/original/file-20190802-117887-e7z8ep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286782/original/file-20190802-117887-e7z8ep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286782/original/file-20190802-117887-e7z8ep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286782/original/file-20190802-117887-e7z8ep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Keeping track of the time of day breast milk was pumped could help sort out any circadian clock issues.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/breast-milk-pumps-bottles-on-bed-1376184122?studio=1">Kiwis/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There’s a fairly easy fix, of course. Mothers can label their milk with the time it was pumped and coordinate infant feedings to offer morning milk in the morning, afternoon milk in the afternoon and night milk at night.</p>
<p>If this became standard practice in neonatal intensive care units, we think that thousands of infants could benefit from milk served right on time, potentially helping them better regulate their circadian rhythms. Many NICUs have already adopted practices designed to better regulate infant circadian biology, such as dimming the lights at night, so time-matched milk would be a logical next step. Similarly, milk banks that accept donor milk could sort milk into batches by time of day.</p>
<p>There’s a simpler alternative to time-matching pumped milk: boosting women’s ability to breastfeed their infants right on the spot by offering reasonable paid parental leave policies. Mothers who can feed their infants directly don’t need to worry about organizing their milk by time of day, and milk that is offered straight from the breast <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/12/health/breastmilk-microbiome-parenting.html">may confer other health benefits</a> as well.</p>
<p>Research continues to explore the role of breast milk in timekeeping and its impact on infant health and development. If time-matched milk does turn out to be a key way to help set babies’ internal clocks, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/paid-family-leave-is-an-investment-in-public-health-not-a-handout-108323">public health case grows stronger</a> for policies that support mothers’ ability to stay home with their infants during the first year of life.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V_Is69vWJ9s?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Consider a timestamp for breast-pumped milk.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Darby Saxbe receives funding from the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Breast milk contains ingredients in concentrations that change over the course of the day. Researchers think milk is chrononutrition, carrying molecular messages to help set a baby’s internal clock.Darby Saxbe, Assistant Professor of Psychology, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and SciencesJennifer Hahn-Holbrook, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of California, MercedLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1083232019-02-20T11:38:34Z2019-02-20T11:38:34ZPaid family leave is an investment in public health, not a handout<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259179/original/file-20190214-1751-uhky3n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=724%2C0%2C4500%2C3050&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Protected time for new families could pay health dividends later.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/parents-their-newborn-baby-boy-on-729856267">Jacob Lund/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most Americans – <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-president-and-women-in-white-have-paid-leave-in-common/">on both sides of the political aisle</a> – <a href="http://fortune.com/2016/04/15/an-overwhelming-majority-of-americans-support-paid-parental-leave/">say they support</a> <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ivanka-paid-parental-leave-hearing_us_5b467744e4b022fdcc55b790">paid parental leave</a>. However, we haven’t yet found the political will to make it happen. In part, that’s because the discussion always seems to start with the question, “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/06/upshot/a-california-dream-for-paid-leave-has-an-old-problem-how-to-pay-for-it.html">How do we pay for it</a>?” </p>
<p>That question goes only halfway, though. <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=q676bXMAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">As a researcher who focuses on stress and health within families</a>, I believe there’s a more important question to ask: “How do we pay for the lack of parental leave?” In other words, how does the stress of a rapid return to work affect parents, and in turn, cost society as a whole? Recently, I <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/amp0000376">sought to answer this question</a> by <a href="https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/64f37">delving into research</a> on the many changes that new parents experience in the first weeks, months, and years after the birth of a new child – and the possibility that all these changes might not just compromise children’s well-being, but also put parents’ long-term health at risk. </p>
<h2>A global outlier</h2>
<p>How fast should women “bounce back” after giving birth? Instantly, at least according to celebrity magazines. And many workplaces in the United States deliver the same message. The typical American maternity leave <a href="https://www.today.com/health/two-weeks-after-baby-more-new-moms-cut-maternity-leave-4B11229443">lasts only 10 weeks</a>, and a quarter of new mothers <a href="http://inthesetimes.com/article/18151/the-real-war-on-families">return to work within two weeks</a> of delivering a child.</p>
<p><iframe id="TJFvx" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/TJFvx/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>The U.S. is <a href="https://www.worldpolicycenter.org/policies/is-paid-leave-available-to-mothers-and-fathers-of-infants/is-paid-leave-available-for-fathers-of-infants">one of the only countries in the world</a> that does not <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/07/15/422957640/lots-of-other-countries-mandate-paid-leave-why-not-the-us">guarantee paid leave to new parents</a>. The 1993 Family Medical and Leave Act provides for unpaid leave – but almost half of U.S. workers are not eligible, and many cannot afford time off without pay. Compare this to the rest of the globe, where <a href="https://www.thisisinsider.com/maternity-leave-around-the-world-2018-5">paid maternity leave is standard</a>, averaging 18 weeks internationally and extending beyond six months in many developed countries.</p>
<h2>New parent stress, long-term effects?</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190628963.013.23">Economists have examined paid family leave policies</a> and measured their impact on worker retention and productivity, as well as health outcomes. But their studies typically focus on population-level trends. As a psychologist whose work takes a more intimate look at family processes, I wondered: How does the stress of work-family conflict affect the well-being of new parents?</p>
<p>I reached out to Stanford economist and family leave policy expert <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=vuOKLC4AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Maya Rossin-Slater</a> to help digest the body of research on health and family leave. Together with developmental neuroscientist Diane Goldenberg, we reviewed existing studies and proposed future directions for research and policy in a <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/amp0000376">recent paper published in American Psychologist</a>. </p>
<p>Psychologists already know that the transition to parenthood is a high-risk time for <a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/postpartum-depression-facts/index.shtml">mental health problems</a> like anxiety and depression. New parents are about <a href="https://www.postpartumdepression.org/resources/statistics/">twice as likely to report clinically significant depression</a> as are adults at other life stages.</p>
<p>Physical health risks may worsen during this time as well. For example, obesity: <a href="https://www.fitpregnancy.com/pregnancy/pregnancy-health/how-pregnancy-weight-gain-could-contribute-obesity-epidemic">many mothers gain in excess</a> of physician-recommended weight guidelines during pregnancy, and may struggle to <a href="https://www.laboratoryequipment.com/article/2019/01/changes-metabolism-lead-postpartum-weight-gain">lose this weight after birth</a>. New fathers also gain weight: <a href="https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/07/25/weight-gain-in-new-fathers-is-a-real-phenomenon-thats-been-subjected-to-a-striking-lack-of-research/">“Dad bod” is real</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258587/original/file-20190212-174873-k8rl48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258587/original/file-20190212-174873-k8rl48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258587/original/file-20190212-174873-k8rl48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258587/original/file-20190212-174873-k8rl48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258587/original/file-20190212-174873-k8rl48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258587/original/file-20190212-174873-k8rl48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258587/original/file-20190212-174873-k8rl48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258587/original/file-20190212-174873-k8rl48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dads have big adjustments during this transition, too.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/0mRerwRVqVA">Zach Vessels/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Stress influences both mental health and weight gain, and may also <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120402162546.htm">affect immune and inflammatory processes</a> that can contribute to long-term health risks. Costly chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer drain the economy, and yet few researchers have zeroed in on the transition to parenthood as a potential inflection point in risk for these diseases. Are these risks magnified when parents lack protected time to recover from birth and adjust to parenthood? If so, the U.S. may be setting up new parents – and especially low income parents – to fail. </p>
<p>In making sense of the research that speaks to health in parents, we started by first identifying what changes over the transition to parenthood in order to spotlight potential areas of vulnerability.</p>
<h2>Neurobiological changes</h2>
<p>At the neurobiological level, researchers are finding that new parents’ hormones and brains may be particularly changeable – what scientists call plastic.</p>
<p>Research on rodents has found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2280">pregnancy hormones remodel the maternal rat brain</a>, helping prep the mother-to-be for infant care. Human mothers also show dramatic changes in hormones across pregnancy and the postpartum period. One neuroimaging study scanned women pre-pregnancy and then tracked them over several years, scanning them again after childbirth. Surprisingly, <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pregnancy-causes-lasting-changes-in-a-womans-brain/">women’s brains actually shrunk</a> over the transition to motherhood, showing reductions in volume particularly in areas linked with social cognition. Pruning may have helped these areas work more efficiently to support caregiving, since women who lost more brain volume also reported stronger attachment to their infants. </p>
<p>Fathers may also undergo neurobiological transformation across the transition to parenthood. Studies have found <a href="https://theconversation.com/postpartum-depression-can-affect-dads-and-their-hormones-may-be-to-blame-81310">decreased testosterone in new dads</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17470919.2014.933713">changes in men’s brain volume</a> in early parenthood, for example. </p>
<p>These neurobiological changes may shape parents’ long-term health, although research evidence is still scant. Scientists also don’t know much about how stress affects the neural and hormonal changes that can accompany parenthood. But what we do know is that new parents are undergoing big biological changes, making this time a sensitive window for the brain. </p>
<h2>Psychological and social change</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258354/original/file-20190211-174857-1wgult6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258354/original/file-20190211-174857-1wgult6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258354/original/file-20190211-174857-1wgult6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258354/original/file-20190211-174857-1wgult6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258354/original/file-20190211-174857-1wgult6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258354/original/file-20190211-174857-1wgult6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258354/original/file-20190211-174857-1wgult6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258354/original/file-20190211-174857-1wgult6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A new baby can come with a lot of shocks to the system.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/XHF_paR2PUE">Jessica To'oto'o/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although many parents eagerly await the arrival of their new baby, becoming a parent can also be challenging, isolating and even overwhelming. Infants require constant care, which can be cognitively and emotionally taxing and physically exhausting. For parents who must return to work soon after birth, the scramble to find trustworthy childcare can also take a financial toll. </p>
<p>Large studies have found that <a href="https://theconversation.com/have-children-heres-how-kids-ruin-your-romantic-relationship-57944">well-being takes a dip</a> during early parenthood; one found that becoming a parent spurred a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-015-0413-2">larger decline in happiness</a> than events like divorce, unemployment or the death of a partner. <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/home-base/201602/can-you-babyproof-your-relationship">Couples’ relationship satisfaction also nosedives</a> in the postpartum period, as they adjust to new roles and responsibilities.</p>
<p>All of these psychological changes may set parents up for heightened mental health risk, reflected in the elevated prevalence of depression and anxiety during this time. </p>
<h2>Behavioral change</h2>
<p>Parents’ everyday routines are upended after a baby’s arrival.</p>
<p>Take sleep. Anyone who has lived with an infant knows they wake up often at night. It’s been estimated that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kws246">parents lose about 80 hours</a> of sleep a year for the first few years of a child’s life. Fathers may actually <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/04/05/473002684/for-new-parents-dad-may-be-the-one-missing-the-most-sleep">wind up more sleep-deprived than mothers</a>, in part because they return to the workplace sooner. </p>
<p>New parents also report <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2010-3218">lower levels of physical exercise, may eat less healthy diets</a> and have fewer opportunities to pursue hobbies and get together with friends. Given that sleep, exercise and other healthy routines are strongly linked with well-being, these changes might help explain why new parents show heightened health risks across so many domains. In particular, scientists know that poor sleep increases vulnerability to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beem.2010.07.001">disease</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/28.10.1289">obesity</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/da.1041">mood disorders</a>, so sleep deprivation in the postpartum period may be a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1160560/">key driver</a> of the risks that new parents experience. </p>
<h2>Risk and vulnerability</h2>
<p>So what can one conclude from all of this research? Like many windows of dynamic developmental change, the transition to parenthood is a time of transformation that can spur growth – but also brings vulnerability.</p>
<p>Changes in stress physiology, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.298.14.1685">obesity, inflammation</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181963/">mental health</a> contribute to a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.298.14.1685">cascade of risks that predict costly cardiac and metabolic diseases</a> down the road. Paid family leave requires significant investment, but might save taxpayers money if it lessens the burden of these chronic diseases on the economy. And our review focused on parents’ health in adulthood, not even scratching the surface of the potential benefits to children that paid family leave policy can bring. For example, mothers with access to leave <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.12230">breastfeed longer</a>, and family leave has been linked with lower rates of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22012">ADHD and obesity in young children</a>. </p>
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<span class="caption">Investment in family leave now, payoffs in better health later?</span>
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<p>Research finds that <a href="https://www.webmd.com/balance/news/20180504/loneliness-rivals-obesity-smoking-as-health-risk">loneliness is worse for your health</a> than smoking cigarettes, suggesting that connections with others may play a profound role in population health. Public health investment has led to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/06/18/smoking-united-states-cigarette-sales/713002002/">dramatic declines in smoking</a> over the last four decades, but hasn’t yet truly tackled <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000103">social cohesion as a public health challenge</a>. What better place to start than by facilitating the first and arguably most important set of social connections – those that blossom within a new family.</p>
<p>This topic is personal for me. When my first child was born, I was a psychotherapy intern at a veterans hospital. As a federal employee, I didn’t qualify for state disability and, as a contract employee, couldn’t access Department of Veterans Affairs leave. My husband, a freelancer, could not take time off without losing income, and I couldn’t quit my job – we needed the health insurance. My wonderful supervisors let me take unpaid time off. But money was tight. Nearby daycares had yearlong wait lists and cost half our combined income. I’m an Ivy League grad with a doctorate, one of the lucky ones, but could barely afford the cost of having a child in the United States. </p>
<p>It doesn’t have to be this way. If Americans reconceptualize parents as a precious national resource, child-rearing as an enterprise that secures the long-term future of the U.S. economy and the transition to parenthood as a window for long-term health, then we can decide as a society that family leave is worth the investment. And there is hope on the horizon: Less than a year after Tammy Duckworth became the <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/tammy-duckworth-birth-girl-first-senator-have-baby-maile-pearl-bowlsbey-office/">first senator to give birth while in office</a>, the 2018 midterm elections <a href="https://www.workingmother.com/number-working-moms-in-congress-will-double-in-2019">doubled the number of working mothers in Congress</a>. When President Trump mentioned paid family leave in his <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/at-sotu-trump-says-federal-budget-will-include-paid-family-leave">State of the Union address</a>, legislators from both parties applauded – a rare moment of unity in an otherwise divided Congress. At long last, the United States’ status as a global outlier on family leave policy may be coming to an end.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108323/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Darby Saxbe receives funding from the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>The transition to parenthood comes with plenty of stress. A psychology researcher suggests that paid family leave could help lift some of the burden – with positive health benefits down the road.Darby Saxbe, Assistant Professor of Psychology, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/716042017-01-23T01:45:16Z2017-01-23T01:45:16ZPaid family leave policies are expanding, but are new mothers actually taking time off?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153760/original/image-20170122-10226-166ucnu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bring your baby to work day?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Office baby via www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The recent presidential campaign reminded us that the U.S. is one of only a handful of countries that doesn’t require companies to provide paid maternity leave. </p>
<p>Maternity leave is important. One of the key reasons is because <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/29/health/paid-leave-benefits-to-children-research/">medical researchers have shown</a> overwhelmingly positive effects when parents are able to spend time with their newborn children. </p>
<p>Fortunately, in the past year a number of <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2016/12/30/these-companies-all-boosted-paid-parental-leave-in-2016/#7867550678d0">major companies announced</a> amazing improvements in maternity and paternity leave policy. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-05/chobani-gives-parental-leave-as-issue-escalates-in-u-s-election">Chobani</a>, the yogurt company, began giving six weeks of paid leave to all employees, including those working on the factory floor. Then <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2016/12/06/ikea-family-leave/95047768/">Ikea</a>, the large furniture seller, announced all staff were eligible for four months of paid leave when a baby is born. <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/12/pf/paid-parental-leave-american-express/">American Express</a> announced an even more generous plan, offering 20 weeks at full pay for all workers. <a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/child-care">Even President Donald Trump</a> jumped on the bandwagon and announced his support for six weeks of paid maternity leave.</p>
<p>For expectant parents working at companies with newly expanded leave policies, this is great news. However, not all people work for companies with generous maternity or paternity leave programs. Government figures suggest <a href="https://www.dol.gov/wb/paidleave/PDF/PaidLeave.pdf">only 12 percent of workers</a> at private companies have access to paid parental leave.</p>
<p>More importantly, just because a company offers a benefit doesn’t mean workers use it. For example, <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/55-of-american-workers-dont-take-all-their-paid-vacation-2016-06-15">roughly half of all people in the U.S.</a> don’t use all their vacation days.</p>
<p>While knowing figures on access to paid leave is useful, more useful is knowing the number of workers who actually take maternity leave. While maternity leave sounds like a great benefit, if it means a cut in pay or a chance of losing a particular job, some women might not take advantage of the benefit. </p>
<p>Recently, I <a href="http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303607">published research</a> that looks at how many working women today are taking maternity leave compared with a few decades ago. The results are not encouraging.</p>
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<h2>Current state of affairs</h2>
<p>The United States <a href="http://www.worldpolicycenter.org/sites/default/files/Work%20Family%20and%20Equity%20Index-How%20does%20the%20US%20measure%20up-Jan%202007.pdf">is one of only a few countries</a> in the world that does not offer guaranteed paid leave for women after childbirth. Some of the others that don’t offer paid leave are places like Liberia, Papua New Guinea and Swaziland. Moreover, the <a href="http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C183">United Nations calls for all countries</a> to provide a minimum of 14 weeks of paid leave for new mothers.</p>
<p>What does the U.S. provide? Since 1993 most workers are covered by the government’s <a href="https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/benefits-leave/fmla">Family and Medical Leave Act</a> (FMLA). This law gives eligible workers 12 weeks of unpaid time off to care for a newborn.</p>
<p>However, just because FMLA has been enacted doesn’t mean a new parent takes maternity or paternity leave. Some new parents cannot afford to take leave because they need to pay bills.</p>
<p>Others don’t take leave because they are worried their job might not be available when they want to come back to work. <a href="https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs28a.htm">FMLA states</a> employees taking leave do not have to be given their same job back. Instead, they have to be given an “equivalent” job. Companies and workers might not agree on what is “equivalent.”</p>
<p>There wasn’t any information on actual usage of maternity leave, so I set out to calculate the numbers.</p>
<h2>My expectations</h2>
<p>Before doing any calculations, I expected to see an increasing number of women taking maternity leave for two reasons. First, the U.S. economy has greatly expanded since the early 1990s. <a href="https://bea.gov/NATIONAL/PDF/NIPA_PRIMER.PDF">GDP</a>, which measures what the country produces, <a href="https://www.bea.gov/national/xls/gdplev.xls">has grown about 66 percent</a> since 1994, after adjusting for inflation. The richer the country, the easier it is to pay for improved benefits for workers.</p>
<p>Second, starting in 2004 a few states decided to enact paid maternity leave. <a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-paid-family-leave-california-20160411-story.html">California was first, and it began giving women</a> up to six weeks of paid time off for newborn care as part of its state disability program. A few years later, the states of <a href="http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/03/paid_family_leave_law_works_but_few_know_about_it.html">New Jersey</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/06/24/what-paid-family-leave-looks-like-in-the-three-states-that-require-it/?utm_term=.2309b210a84d">Rhode Island</a> also enacted paid maternity leave programs. <a href="https://www.ny.gov/programs/paid-family-leave-strong-families-strong-ny">Soon New York</a> will become the fourth state offering paid leave.</p>
<p><a href="http://businessmacroeconomics.com/">I</a> was able to calculate maternity leave information using the <a href="http://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps.html">Current Population Survey</a>. This is the survey the government uses to determine the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/cps/">nation’s unemployment rate</a>. Each month the survey contacts about 60,000 households across all 50 states. It records detailed information about everyone in the family. <a href="https://www.bls.gov/cps/revisions1994.pdf">Since 1994 it has identified</a> all people on maternity and paternity leave, regardless of whether it was paid.</p>
<h2>What the data show</h2>
<p>The results are striking. </p>
<p>The data show that maternity leave figures are essentially unchanged since 1994. For example, the number of women on leave in both 1995 and 2014 was almost the same absolute number and the same rate per 10,000 births. </p>
<p>During the average month, about 336,000 babies were born and slightly more than 273,000 women were on maternity leave at the time the survey was taken. Since the survey does not ask parents exactly when the baby was born, it is impossible to know for sure exactly how many of those births resulted in a mother actually taking leave. Nevertheless, if the U.N. guidelines of 14 weeks were being followed in the U.S., we should be seeing almost a million women on leave at any given time rather than the quarter of a million we are seeing.</p>
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<p>To me, it’s startling that the number of women on maternity leave has barely budged even after California and other states have passed paid leave laws. There is no trend after adjusting for these new laws or for the number of births, unemployment rates and recessions. </p>
<p>As for paternity leave, the data show the number of men who have taken it has more than tripled since 1994, to a monthly average of about 22,000 in 2015. Given a third of a million babies are born each month, the figures still mean relatively few men take time off from work to care for a newborn child. </p>
<h2>Paid versus unpaid</h2>
<p><a href="http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303607">My research</a> also looked at changes in paid versus unpaid maternity leave. There the news is slightly better. </p>
<p>Approximately half of all women on maternity leave were paid. This figure is climbing slowly over time. In 1994 about 45 percent of women on maternity leave were paid. In 2015, more than two decades later, the figure was slightly above half. At this rate all women on maternity leave will get paid during their time off in about 200 more years, which is slightly less than how long the U.S. has been in existence.</p>
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<p>The Current Population Survey does not include questions on why people take or forgo parental leave after a baby is born. This means I am not sure what the reasons are behind the lack of change in the number of women on maternity leave, even though the economy has grown dramatically and three states have set up paid leave programs. </p>
<p>Two potential reasons for the lack of change are that the amount of pay provided for women thinking about taking maternity leave is too low and the amount of job protection provided by current maternity leave laws is too weak.</p>
<p>President Trump made a <a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/child-care">campaign promise</a> of six weeks of paid maternity leave for all working women. If the legislation fulfilling this promise ensures decent pay and strong job protection, then more of America’s babies will have a better start to their lives.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71604/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jay L. Zagorsky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If President Trump follows through on his campaign promise, new mothers may soon have six weeks of guaranteed paid leave. But something is keeping them from using the benefits they already have.Jay L. Zagorsky, Economist and Research Scientist, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/693522016-11-24T08:37:08Z2016-11-24T08:37:08ZPolitics podcast: Jenny Macklin on Labor’s approach to welfare<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/147319/original/image-20161124-15362-1apvn4q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1094%2C751&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pat Hutchens/TC</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In times of budgetary constraint, the cost of Australia’s welfare system has been regarded by many in the Coalition as a burden and a drag on economic growth. The shadow minister for social services and families, Jenny Macklin, has a different take.</p>
<p>“Sadly I think the Liberal-National Coalition have an ideological view that the welfare system is too generous – even though the international evidence is completely to the contrary … our social security system is one of the most tightly targeted in the world,” she says.</p>
<p>For Labor, the message is that cuts to welfare and social services increases inequality – damaging the wider economy. </p>
<p>“You’ve got the International Monetary Fund, the OECD, other very big international players telling us that increasing inequality is a constraint on growth. So what Labor is saying is that we want to … use all the different levers available to us to reduce inequality through the tax changes on negative gearing for example, through improved social investments, such as our schools policy. </p>
<p>"These are all very practical policies that Labor has to reduce inequality, to make sure that we see that reduction in inequality delivering in improved economic growth.”</p>
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<p><em>Music credit: “Dryness”, by Ketsa on the Free Music Archive.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69352/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In times of budgetary constraint, the cost of Australia's welfare system has been regarded by many in the Coalition as a drag on economic growth. Labor's Jenny Macklin has a different take.Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/675412016-10-27T03:42:07Z2016-10-27T03:42:07ZRemoval of ‘double dipping’ from parental leave may impact mothers’ health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/143222/original/image-20161026-11252-gb5dsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Even Australia's relatively short paid parental leave scheme benefits women's health. But will proposed changes undermine that?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-65506282/stock-photo-mother-with-her-baby-at-home.html?src=GeCOKJ13zM8uWzfal1hnJw-1-87">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australian government proposals to end so-called “double dipping” with paid parental leave may scale back health benefits for women who take time off work to care for their babies.</p>
<p>The proposed changes to the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-26/paid-parental-leave-changes-explained/7968284?sf39931122=1">paid parental leave scheme</a> would potentially restrict paid leave entitlements to a maximum of 18 weeks for an estimated 80,000 women receiving both employer paid leave and <a href="https://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/services/centrelink/parental-leave-pay">government paid parental leave</a>. </p>
<p>There is good evidence that longer paid parental leave has extra health benefits for mothers, which we assess below. This means that any shortened paid leave associated with ending “double dipping” may have unintended health consequences for women.</p>
<h2>Does parental leave boost mothers’ health?</h2>
<p>In a systematic review of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25680101http://example.com/">international literature</a>, we found paid maternity leave for working mothers was associated with better mental health and well-being, general health and physical well-being. </p>
<p>Our review also found longer periods of leave were associated with better mental and physical health, with the optimum length of leave about six months.</p>
<p>However, our review also identified a number of limitations.</p>
<p>First, we only identified seven studies that examined paid parental leave. Research rarely differentiated between paid and unpaid leave. So we do not know whether paid leave, which offers both time and income, provides health benefits above and beyond unpaid leave, which offers just time.</p>
<p>Second, because most other wealthy developed countries have had paid parental leave for many years, it has not been possible to test the effect of these policies on working mothers’ health.</p>
<h2>How about the situation in Australia?</h2>
<p>Australia introduced its first federally funded paid parental leave scheme in January 2011, the second-last wealthy nation to do so. One of its goals was to enhance mothers’ health and well-being.</p>
<p>To find out if this major social policy innovation did this, the <a href="https://www.issr.uq.edu.au/">Institute for Social Science Research</a> at the University of Queensland led an <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/families-and-children/programmes-services/paid-parental-leave-scheme/paid-parental-leave-evaluation">evaluation</a>, funded by the Australian government.</p>
<p>Researchers directly <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/families-and-children/programmes-services/paid-parental-leave-scheme/paid-parental-leave-evaluation-phase-4-report">compared</a> the health of working mothers giving birth before and after the government’s scheme started.</p>
<p>Mothers surveyed after it started had better mental and physical health on average compared to those mothers surveyed beforehand.</p>
<p>Health differences between individuals were small. However, the evaluation concludes that when applied to a large population group (about 145,000 working families take paid parental leave each year), these differences were likely to have an important health impact at population level.</p>
<p>Paid parental leave delivered more health benefits to some groups of working mothers. For example, mothers on casual contracts had much better mental health after its introduction compared to mothers on casual contracts before the scheme.</p>
<p>The Australian case, therefore, provides good evidence that the financial support and time off work from paid leave has significant health benefits for working mothers.</p>
<h2>How does Australia’s leave compare?</h2>
<p>At 18 weeks and minimum wage, Australia’s paid parental leave is not as generous as those provided in many other countries that offer replacement wages and longer time off. In fact, by <a href="http://www.oecd.org/els/soc/PF2_1_Parental_leave_systems.pdf">world standards</a> the public expenditure on the Australian scheme is relatively modest and below the OECD average. </p>
<p>Even so, this relatively low level of public investment provides significant benefits to the short-term health and well-being of mothers, as we have shown. International evidence also suggests longer paid parental leave can provide health benefits to mothers for <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4400242/">decades after birth</a>. </p>
<p>Australian and international research suggests paid parental leave benefits society because it supports and values women’s care-giving and reproductive contributions, and helps ensure having children doesn’t exclude women from holding jobs or earning income. It also benefits women’s health.</p>
<p>The question remains how the proposed removal of double dipping, and any associated reduced paid time off work, will impact on the health and well-being of Australian working mothers in the short and long term.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/67541/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Belinda Hewitt worked on the Paid Parental Leave Evaluation, funded by the Department of Social Services.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne Kavanagh receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lyndall Strazdins was a consultant to the Paid Parental Leave Evaluation, funded by the Department of Social Services. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zoe Aitken does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australian government proposals to ban so-called “double dipping” with paid parental leave (PPL) risks scaling back health benefits for women who take time off to care for their babies.Belinda Hewitt, Associate Professor of Sociology, The University of MelbourneAnne Kavanagh, Head, Gender and Women’s Health Unit, Centre for Health Equity, The University of MelbourneLyndall Strazdins, Australian National UniversityZoe Aitken, Research Fellow, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/675492016-10-25T00:06:07Z2016-10-25T00:06:07ZPaid parental leave plan ignores economics of well-functioning families<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142994/original/image-20161024-28417-1weyw93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Family policies are about ensuring children get a good start in life.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image sourced from shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The federal government’s <a href="http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/legislation/ems/r5752_ems_aa3b0247-12f2-4869-87b0-6d3c7fed66a3/upload_pdf/600981.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf">proposal</a> to amend paid parental leave may result in short term fiscal gains, but overlooks the fact that well-functioning families provide long-term economic and social benefits to the community.</p>
<p>The paid parental leave scheme was designed to enhance the well-being of families by providing a strong foundation in the months following the birth of a child. The 2016 Bill limits the entitlements of women who receive some level of support from their employer by restricting the Commonwealth support to a top-up payment that would be a maximum of 18 weeks at the minimum wage. </p>
<p>The current scheme entitles the primary carer to claim up to 18 weeks at minimum wage, of which two weeks can be claimed by the carer’s partner (Dad or Partner Pay). Women earning more than A$150,000 per annum are not eligible for the government scheme. The minimum provisions of the National Employment Standards further allow a parent to take up to 12 months of unpaid parental leave.</p>
<p>This original scheme was not designed as a top-up scheme, but to complement payments available under existing employment arrangements. It recognised that some new parents had rights under their existing employment agreements, so the policy was <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/bill_em/pplb2010176/memo_0.html">explicit</a> that the parental leave pay can be received in addition to other entitlements including employer-provided parental leave. </p>
<p>Before fiddling with the design of paid parental Leave, we need to be clear about the purpose of the policy. Family policies, including child care, early education, paid parental leave and family benefits are not just about economics and productivity: they are also about ensuring children get a good start in life. The broad reach of this policy is set out by the diverse range of women’s groups who have signed the <a href="http://www.nfaw.org/protect-our-paid-parental-leave/">call to protect paid parental leave</a>. </p>
<h2>What the experts say</h2>
<p>Health experts are unanimous about the benefits of parental bonding in the first weeks of life. The International Labour Organisation <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs342/en/">recommends</a> mothers be entitled to at least 18 weeks of leave, on the equivalent of their normal rate of pay.</p>
<p>The World Health Organisation further <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs342/en/">recommends</a> that infants should be breastfed for the first six months of life, with supplementary breastfeeding until at least the age of two. These recommendations were critical in the design of the 2010 paid parental leave policy, with the Productivity Commission <a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/parental-support/report/parental-support.pdf">noting</a> that: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>a leave period of 18 weeks of postnatal leave (as proposed in the draft report), combined with adequate payment levels appropriately balances the above considerations. Such a duration would provide the overwhelming majority of parents, more than 90 per cent according to preliminary estimates, the option of taking at least 26 weeks of leave without undue financial stress.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The current proposals will meet the 18 week benchmark, but payments are limited to the basic wage. This is about half of <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/6302.0May%202016?OpenDocument">average weekly earnings for women</a>. If paid parental leave cannot be combined with other leave entitlements, the amount the parent receives will be inadequate to give many parents the option of taking the recommended 26 weeks of leave to bond with and care for the newborn baby.</p>
<p>WGEA <a href="http://data.wgea.gov.au/industries/1">data</a> shows that in 2015, less than half of employers (48.2%) provided paid parental leave. Of those, 80.9% offered full pay and 8.6% topped up the government scheme to full pay. The average period of paid leave was 10.2 weeks. </p>
<p>The most highly feminised industries of health, childcare and primary education are more likely to provide leave on full pay, but the duration of the leave remains around the average. This is a long way from the 26 weeks that the WHO and the Productivity Commission recommended as being in the best interests of the child. </p>
<p>Under the current arrangements, a new parent who is entitled to claim 10 weeks on full pay from their employer would be entitled to dad and partner pay of two weeks and 16 weeks of Parental Leave Pay. This would enable the family to get to 26 weeks, although they would need to budget carefully to get through this period.</p>
<p>Under the proposed changes, the family would be restricted to eight weeks of parental leave pay following the employer-funded leave. This leaves the family with the choice of either returning to work or remaining on unpaid parental leave for the balance of the recommended 26 weeks. </p>
<p>When deciding whether to return to work, other practical issues must be considered. </p>
<p>If adequate breastfeeding facilities are available in the workplace, 18 weeks would meet the ILO standards, but the WGEA data also shows that less than half of employers (45.7%) provide private breastfeeding facilities. If this can be addressed, the family will then need to find a place in a childcare centre for a child under six months old. The cost of childcare takes a further chunk out of the family earnings.</p>
<p>Paid parental leave policies need to consider a range of objectives. The economic objectives include encouraging women to remain active participants in the workforce. But the overriding objective is to improve the well-being of families, including the health, social and cognitive development of the child.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/67549/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Hodgson receives funding from AHURI. Helen is a member of the WISER Research Group at Curtin Business School, the ACOSS Tax Advisory Panel and a Director and Member of the Social Policy Committee of NFAW. Helen was a member of the WA Legislative Council from 1997 to 2001, elected as an Australian Democrat. Helen is not currently a member of any political party.</span></em></p>Before fiddling with the design of paid parental leave, we need to be clear about the purpose of the policy.Helen Hodgson, Associate Professor, Curtin Law School and Curtin Business School, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/600712016-07-06T03:36:59Z2016-07-06T03:36:59ZLeave for surrogate parents in South Africa: no time for baby steps<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129411/original/image-20160705-793-19vf7xp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A proposed new law is set to allow surrogate parents in South Africa to also take leave to care for their babies.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa took a progressive step by legitimising surrogate parenthood with its <a href="http://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/acts/2005-038%20childrensact.pdf">Children’s Act</a>. However, it somehow failed to provide for leave from work for the concerned parents to care for their infants.</p>
<p>This could change if the <a href="http://www.gov.za/sites/www.gov.za/files/39448_1174.pdf">Labour Laws Amendment Bill</a> of 2015 is accepted.
The Bill proposes amendments to South Africa’s <a href="http://www.labour.gov.za/DOL/downloads/legislation/acts/basic-conditions-of-employment/Amended%20Act%20-%20Basic%20Conditions%20of%20Employment.pdf">Basic Conditions of Employment Act</a>, which regulates various types of leave. </p>
<p>Although the Bill is welcomed, there are a number of concerns pertaining to the duration and management of the various types of proposed leave that need to be urgently addressed – especially concerning the best interests of the child. </p>
<h2>Dawn of a new era</h2>
<p>Surrogate parenthood arises where one or two commissioning parents (the parties who enter into a surrogate motherhood agreement with a surrogate mother) agree with another woman to carry a child for them, as they are medically incapable of doing so themselves. </p>
<p>The Children’s Act stipulates that after the birth of the child, the commissioning parties will become the legal parents of that child. The surrogate mother must hand over the child as soon as reasonably possible.</p>
<p>The surrogacy agreement is controlled by the high courts and needs to meet certain requirements. These include, among others, consent by all the parties, the use of the gametes of one or both of the commissioning parents, and that they should be unable to produce a child themselves. The requirements furthermore guard against commercial surrogacy and other prohibited practices.</p>
<p>A shortcoming exists in the law. Although the commissioning parents receive their newborns shortly after birth, they do not have access to particular leave from work to fulfil their parental obligations, like natural parents would. </p>
<p>This failure led to an important Labour Court <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZALCD/2015/20.html">decision </a>in 2015. The matter involved a male employee in a same-sex civil union who had applied for maternity leave as his only recourse to properly care for the newborn that had been born to him and his partner through a surrogate agreement. </p>
<p>The employer denied him such leave, arguing that it applied only to pregnant, female employees. The employee claimed unfair discrimination based on gender, sex, sexual orientation and family responsibility.</p>
<p>After arguing that there was no reason why “someone in the position of the applicant” could not also receive “maternity leave” to serve the interests of the child, the Labour Court mentioned in passing that amendments to current labour legislation would be necessary to appropriately address similar situations by specifically catering for commissioning parents.</p>
<h2>South Africa’s leave regime</h2>
<p>From the various types of leave available in terms of South Africa’s <a href="http://www.labour.gov.za/DOL/downloads/legislation/acts/basic-conditions-of-employment/Amended%20Act%20-%20Basic%20Conditions%20of%20Employment.pdf">Basic Conditions of Employment Act</a>, only two are arguably relevant to surrogacy: maternity and family responsibility leave. </p>
<p>However, maternity leave of four months (16 weeks) is only available to pregnant employees to protect the health of both the mother and child before and after birth. The International Labour Organisation <a href="http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_242615.pdf">supports this notion</a>. We submit that maternity leave is not accessible to parents in terms of a surrogacy agreement, given that they do not meet the requirements.</p>
<p>Maternity leave will naturally be available to a surrogate mother who bears the child, as she qualifies as a pregnant employee. We argue that, similarly to circumstances of a miscarriage or stillbirth noted in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, the mother should only be entitled to six weeks statutory leave <a href="http://www.labour.gov.za/DOL/legislation/acts/basic-conditions-of-employment/read-online/amended-basic-conditions-of-employment-act-21">after the birth</a>. In addition, provisions should nevertheless be made for the possibility that she could use the full maternity leave period if she could provide a medical certificate to support the necessity of extended leave beyond the statutory six weeks. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129404/original/image-20160705-795-1bb8p11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129404/original/image-20160705-795-1bb8p11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129404/original/image-20160705-795-1bb8p11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129404/original/image-20160705-795-1bb8p11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129404/original/image-20160705-795-1bb8p11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129404/original/image-20160705-795-1bb8p11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129404/original/image-20160705-795-1bb8p11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mothers-to-be at an ante-natal class.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Family responsibility leave, on the other hand, also provides for employees to take leave at the birth of their children in terms of the Act. This type of leave is not gender specific or based upon any health reasons. It can consequently be used by anyone who is the <a href="http://www.labourguide.co.za/conditions-of-employment/343-family-responsibility-leave">legal parent of the child</a>.</p>
<p>In light of the scope of family responsibility leave, the conclusion can be reached that this type of leave will be the only form of recourse that exists for the commissioning parents. Unfortunately the period of leave available in these circumstances only amounts to a period of three days. </p>
<p>Needless to say, the duration of this leave is insufficient to meet the needs of the commissioning parents to care for the child. This gives rise to concern, as commissioning parents have the same parental obligations as traditional parents towards their child. The need for legislative reform can therefore not be denied.</p>
<p>In light of the shortcoming identified by the Labour Court, the <a href="http://www.gov.za/sites/www.gov.za/files/39448_1174.pdf">recent Bill</a> proposes ten weeks of leave for one commissioning parent. It also proposes another ten days ordinary parental leave to the other parent, to be taken from the date of birth of the child.</p>
<p>It is deduced that this leave will be unpaid as the Bill provides, in the proposed section 26, for unemployment benefits to be claimed in terms of the <a href="http://www.gov.za/sites/www.gov.za/files/39448_1174.pdf">Unemployment Insurance Act</a>. It is argued that the disparity between maternity, commissioning and ordinary parental leave could open the door to possible claims of unfair discrimination. The periods proposed could also be extended to serve the best interests of the child during the early development stages.</p>
<h2>Lessons from the UK</h2>
<p>Legal developments in the UK regarding surrogacy provide the best guidance for improving the proposed South African law. The UK law protects all the relevant parties in a surrogacy agreement, including the affected children.</p>
<p>The UK’s <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/6/contents/enacted">Children and Families Act</a>, together with the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2014/9780111118856/contents">Shared Parental Leave Regulations</a>, brought about significant changes to the country’s labour market by expressly providing shared parental leave to employees who become parents in terms of a surrogacy agreement. </p>
<p>After obtaining a parental order, one commissioning parent qualifies for statutory adoption leave. Should the parent decide not to make use of the full leave period, he or she may transfer the remainder of the leave to the other parent – hence the term “shared parental leave”. One of the key aims of making leave available to both parents, despite their gender, was to enable working parents to equally share in the care of their children.</p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>Even though the conclusion of surrogacy agreements is acknowledged and regulated in South Africa, the country is lagging behind in addressing surrogacy-related issues in the labour market. Proper legislative intervention is needed to keep track of the changing values of society.</p>
<p>Similar practices to that of the UK in sharing available leave between the parties to a surrogate agreement could be adopted to address the issues above. This would consequently guard against falling behind on issues that are critical to the interest of parents and their children, irrespective of how they were born.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60071/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>South African law requires surrogate mothers to hand infants to their legal parents without undue delay. But it doesn’t provide leave for these parents to care for their infants. That is set to change.Anri Botes, Senior Lecturer in Labour Law, North-West UniversityLaetitia Fourie, Lecturer in Mercantile Law, University of the Free StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.