Australia

More vacations for new moms and dads would be good for the economy

Officially unveiling the new policy over the weekend, he confirmed that it is both to promote equality in the female workforce and to get more men to take that leave.

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“This is modern policy for modern families.” He said.

Focusing on getting more men to take it is important for several reasons.

As Sam Mostyn, Chief Executive Officer and Female President, points out, 90% of parental leave is now taken by women.and just half of all eligible men You are entitled to two weeks of secondary caregiver parental leave.

Generally speaking, this means that when a baby is born, the mother will be out of work for several months, while the father will continue to work. She says mom takes her year off. In the meantime, Dad may have been promoted and her income increased, but Mom was so focused on raising her children that her career was frozen.

This is a very common heterosexual example, but a large gap in off-time early on can change the way families think about whose career is more valuable and who is responsible for childcare. Indicates that it may change.

As the Grattan Institute report states, “These highly gendered patterns of time use also undermine women’s economic security through lower wages and lower lifetime earnings.”

or “Maternal Penalty” recently quantified.a A recent study by two Treasury Department economists They found that during the first five years after giving birth, women earned less than half of their prenatal wages.

As a result, women work less. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the current labor force participation rate for women is 62.3% and that for men is 71%. However, according to the same data, only 37% of full-time jobs were held by women in August.

According to Grattan’s report, increasing the amount of paid parental leave could increase women’s lifetime earnings by $30,000 and increase labor force participation by about $900 million a year in GDP. .

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It would also help normalize the role of men in parenting roles, the report said, and research shows that it’s generally just right for men.

“Fathers who take papa leave tend to have higher levels of work and life satisfaction. Papa leave gives fathers the opportunity to better understand themselves, reflect and mature,” he said. the report said.

Australia has only had a government-funded parental leave scheme since 2011. A change that has also been called for.

Before the system is expanded, the next task will be how leave should be divided among parents and what flexibility is needed to ensure that governments and professionals want it done. to solve it accurately.

Ross Gittins is on vacation.

More vacations for new moms and dads would be good for the economy

Source link More vacations for new moms and dads would be good for the economy

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