Gender equality parenting is rarely seen as a discussion point in the media
Sweden is a world leader in gender equality in parenting through its parental leave provisions. But how do they do it? And is a work-life balance really possible?
Imagine falling pregnant and not having to worry about how you will live on one income, and how soon you would need to go back to work in the baby's first year.
Imagine not having to put your unborn child's name on a day care waiting list in hope they will be accepted in a year's time? And how about not worrying about how you will cover child care costs if your child is accepted?
Imagine not being treated as an uncommitted worker if you needed to take a day off work to look after your sick child? Or worry about the cost of visits to the doctor, or hospital?
Imagine if your husband or partner was just as capable as you at taking care of your baby, and did so while you went to work?
If you are fortunate enough to be Swedish, you don't have to imagine any of these scenarios; this is how it is. Sweden is a world leader in paid parental leave, enabling parents to be at home with their children for 16 months, two of which are mandatory 'daddy months'.
This is in stark comparison to Australia's current and proposed parental leave. As a working, pregnant woman in Australia, your base parental leave offerings currently stand at a year's leave without pay, with no guarantee that you will resume work in the same position upon your return.
If you are employed in the public sector, or private enterprise, you are likely to have access to a number of weeks of paid leave. However in the hospitality and retail industries where women dominate, very few women are covered, with little financial security should they become pregnant.
This year's Federal Budget proposed that employed Australian women receive the minimum wage for 18 weeks, commencing 1 January 2011. If legislation is passed, Australia will no longer be lagging behind the world's developed countries, but we will still have a long way to go.
Socially acceptable paternity leave
But what about fathers?
Australia allows new fathers a single, and unpaid, week's leave when their baby is born. Clearly we place little importance the bonding of a father with his newborn, and supporting his partner at this most challenging of times. In fact, this offering puts in motion an assumed role for the father as breadwinner, not as carer.
Ours is a culture, with a lingering, unspoken traditionalism, of women minding the children and the home, and men dominating the workplace, both in roles to which it is assumed they are best suited.
Gender equality parenting is rarely seen as a discussion point in the media in Australia, often overshadowed by the more hotly debated topic of maternity leave and mothers in the workplace, however the two issues are intrinsically tied.
In order to enable fathers time to spend quality time raising their children, there must be a provision of paternity leave, and a culture of such leave being socially acceptable.
Former Swedish politician and gender equality reformer, Peter Örn, believes the key to equality between women and men lies in fathers sharing responsibility with mothers for their children.
'Women and men shall have equal power to shape society and their own lives. They will enjoy the same opportunities, rights and objectives', affirms Örn.
So how is it done?
Örn has seen massive changes within Sweden in his lifetime, from the early days of gender equality campaigning in the 1970s as a radical liberal, to his work changing to the Swedish parental insurance system in the 1990s, through to today's society in which it is expected that both men and women should be economically independent of any other person for their living, and that as far as possible, both should share equal responsibility for family economic support and child-rearing.
With a population of 9.3 million, Sweden is a prosperous country possessing the world's most generous tax-financed social welfare system. Tax-financed systems of education, health care, child and elder care and parental insurance, among others, ensure narrow economic gaps between its social classes than in comparable countries.
Its outstanding parental allowances, or 'parental insurance', aimed at supporting both the mother and the father when they enter parenthood, put Sweden streets ahead of all other countries.
Working parents receive:
- 480 days paid leave until the child is 8 years old. At least 80% of the salary is covered for the first 390 days, followed by a flat rate. (Often 'topped up' by an employer'.)
- A dedicated 60 days to the secondary care giver, usually the father.
- 10 paid days at birth for fathers
- Additional 18 months unpaid leave may also be taken.
- 120 days paid leave is reserved each year for parents to care for their sick children.
Public maternity care centres, day care centres and preschools are funded by the public sector, with day care fees on a sliding scale adjusted to the parents' income and capped. Schooling through to university is free, as is health care, albeit with some aspects subsidised.
The public sector guarantees basic economic security for all Swedish citizens. Its policies demonstrate that Sweden aims to lead the world in gender equality practices, at which they are clearly succeeding.
Achieving a work-life balance
In Sweden, having children is a right, not an inconvenience. Starting a family is encouraged by society and supported by the state. Furthermore, gender equality is an assumed aspect of parenting. As such, a mother's career is as valued as a father's.
Swedish parents are embracing the opportunities now given to them to combine parenthood with careers. 80% of all children have a mother who goes out to work, and 90% have working fathers.
Just as an equal importance is placed on both parents in the workplace,
Peter Örn knows too that when parenting responsibility is shared between parents, the child benefits.
'Present fathers will have a positive impact on families and childhood,' he says of the current generation of fathers who elect to take paternity leave.
Fathers have at least 60 days' paid paternity leave that they must take, with the option to take a greater portion of the total 480 days afforded to both parents. In 2008, 44% of Swedish fathers took at least one day's parental leave.
Örn asserts that if men take paternity leave, parental leave discrimination in the workplace won't be a discrimination against women.
However with all this parental leave being taken, there is no surplus of leave replacement positions. Parents on leave are often not replaced, instead it is understood that their work will be covered by colleagues while they are absent.
Despite more fathers than ever before taking advantage of Sweden's parental insurance, some industries such as law, finance and construction still make it difficult to do so, sanctioning a 'hidden discrimination'.
Does it really work?
The Swedish ideal is that economic equality between women and men will allow for an equal distribution of power and influence both in the workplace and at home. But in reality this is still a difficult balance to achieve.
Child insurance benefits are based on income, encouraging the higher wage earner, which is more often than not the father, to stay at work.
As well as financial considerations, there psychological elements weigh into the debate. To take paternity leave, men may feel they are on some level admitting that they can be replaced in their career. Furthermore, women who see their domain as running the home do not view their partners nudging in on their territory in a favourable light. Despite the progressive changes in paid paternity leave, old prejudices die hard.
At a time when Australia still does not have legislation around paid maternity leave, and our society maintains denies fathers first-hand experience raising their children, it is difficult not to ask how in this environment are families expected to approach that ever-elusive concept of 'work-life balance'?
Have we paused to consider the key question, which Örn answers for himself, 'Where are you most important in the world? What really matters? Your most important role is as a parent.'
It is a sobering thought that in our country, as elsewhere, a man's worth is defined by his ability to earn money to support his family, rather than play an equal role in raising his children.
After all, modern fatherhood is, as Örn says, 'The joy and happiness of seeing your children grow. Don't miss their childhood because you can never get it back.'
Discuss with other parents in the working and parenting forum.
