Finland is to guarantee new fathers at least 95 working days of paternity leave (equivalent to more than four months off work), a reform aimed at giving all parents the same rights, regardless of gender. Each parent will be given 164 working days of paid parental leave, and can transfer up to 69 of them to their partner. Besides promoting equality, the reform is designed to lower the divorce rate and halt the decline in Finland’s fertility rate (at 1.35 births per woman, it’s one of the lowest in the world). Effectively, it trebles the father’s allowance, giving Finland one of the most generous parental leave systems in Europe (see below).
Using OECD figures here is a snapshot of paid leave for mothers in other countries around the world:
Estonia – 84 weeks full rate equivalent (166 weeks total)
Female workers on an average salary in Estonia can take job-protected leave when they give birth and continue taking home full wages for the first 18 months of their child’s life, in the form of 20 weeks fully paid maternity leave followed by the first 62 weeks of maximum paid parental leave. After that, monthly payments drop considerably until the child turns three.
Japan – 36 weeks FRE (58 weeks total)
Maternity leave is available at two-thirds of a woman’s average earnings for 14 weeks – six of which are compulsory. Parental leave can then be taken by mothers and fathers at a percentage of earnings until the baby’s first birthday, but it is usually taken by women. It can be extended up to 14 months if both parents take it.
Sweden – 35 weeks FRE (56 weeks total)
Sweden is ranked by Unicef as the world’s most family-friendly country and 17th for maternity leave. Women are entitled to 10 weeks full rate equivalent maternity leave followed by 480 days parental leave, 90 days of which is ringfenced for each parent.
Chile – 30 weeks FRE (30 weeks total)
With the equivalent of around half a year’s pay, Chile has a comparatively generous maternity leave package. All female employees with permanent contracts are entitled to take leave – in fact it is obligatory to take six weeks before the birth and 12 weeks after. After that, women can take a further 12 weeks or transfer it to the child’s father.
Iceland – 18 weeks FRE (26 weeks total)
All parents have the right to paid leave – including the unemployed and students – while new employees and the self-employed are entitled to 80% of their salary. However, as a result of gender pay gaps, women on an average female salary receive considerably less in parental leave than men. Unicef reports that high breastfeeding rates and pay discrepancies mean women tend to take longer time off.
United Kingdom – 12 weeks FRE (39 weeks total)
Female employees can take up to 52 weeks of maternity leave. The first six weeks are paid at 90% of their average weekly earnings and for the following 33 weeks, employees are paid a maximum of £148.68 a week. The final 13 weeks are not paid. Leave can be taken from 11 weeks before the week of birth. It is compulsory for workers to take a minimum of two weeks off after birth and four weeks for factory workers.
Mexico – 12 weeks FRE (12 weeks total)
It is compulsory to take the entire 12 weeks which run from two to six weeks before the birth and six to 10 afterwards. It is paid at 100% of wages with no ceiling. However, the International Network on Leave Policies and Research notes that it only covers employees of the formal economy – leaving out 60% of all employed women.
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My comment: One in four American women return to work within two weeks of childbirth, according to Paid Leave US. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that mothers should take at least six weeks off after childbirth. Why don’t they do it? Because, although the economy is doing well, their weekly wage is so low that they cannot afford time off. Only 17% of mothers have access to paid leave, most of them white. Going to work wondering if or when you are going to bleed is not wise. Just as unwise is not being with a newborn during the crucial first few weeks and months, part of the bonding period.
All this produces stressed parents and a bad start for the baby. Of course, company bosses hate key staff being away having babies (it was a big problem in my company, but the mother and child had to come first). But it tells you just what a relentless grip corporations have on Congress and the uncaring, even cruel, attitude some of them have to their staff. It is a disgrace.
