List of Headings
- i Opposition by employers to parental leave
- ii An illustration of a trend in one country
- iii An explanation for the limited success of government initiatives
- iv Pressure for change from an unlikely source
- v The need for cooperation at a global level
- vi The contrast in attitudes towards leave for mothers and fathers
- vii A range of measures to encourage more equal responsibility
- viii The implications of maternity leave
Questions 1-6
Drag a heading into each box.
1. New York was full of parents' support groups, but nearly all were aimed at mothers. Frustrated, the friends set up their own group, which has spread to 17 cities in the USA, helping fathers who want to get involved from day one.
2. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), 85% of countries now provide at least 12 weeks' maternity leave. But how many countries meet the ILO's guidelines on paternity leave? None, because no such guidelines exist. Though it publishes detailed advice regarding female employees, the organisation has drawn up no formal recommendations on fathers' rights and duties.
3. Now a different view is slowly emerging, as growing evidence suggests that children benefit from seeing more of their fathers. But much of the demand for a shift in approaches to childcare has come from women, who have started to conclude that they are victims as well as beneficiaries of generous maternity-leave policies.
4. But it turns out that long maternity breaks have unintended consequences. Time away from the labour market reduces women's earning power, as their skills degrade and they miss chances to gain experience and win promotion.
5. Britain recently became the latest country to combine maternity and paternity leave into a single chunk of parental leave, to be split between mother and father however they see fit. But the government estimates that only 2%鈥?% of dads will take more than their existing fortnight. The main reason for low take-up by fathers is financial.
6. To overcome these obstacles, some countries are giving fathers a firm nudge. In a few, including Chile, Italy and Portugal, paternity leave is compulsory. Others offer incentives that are hard to turn down. Sweden grants a bonus to parents who share leave more equally. Poland has switched to gender-specific quotas, replacing the previous system of shared leave.