It is an Individual Annotated powerpoint ‘Presentation’ (Max 15 slides) & a ‘Report’ (2000 words) and the Unit name is “Managing Diversity & Inclusion (MGF5130)”. The Topic for the report is “(Topic: PARENTAL LEAVE): What advances have been made in the development of gender balanced parental leave and what are the challenges?” and this is the question which needs to be addressed in the overall conclusion part of the report. Other details like the format and all is given in the Unit guide. (Please find attached the following files - Unit guide, Consultant report, Annotated powerpoint info & 3 Required readings).
[Note:A minimum of 10 academic journal articles (APA style) and 3 required readings (attached) are to be cited as references in the report].
Workplace Gender Equality Agency | Women’s economic security in retirement | www.wgea.gov.au Towards gender balanced parental leave Australian and international trends Insight paper Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Vishal Patel Workplace Gender Equality Agency | Towards gender balanced parental leave | www.wgea.gov.au 2 Contents Summary 3 Towards a gender balanced paid parental leave 3 About parental leave 4 Paid and unpaid parental leave 4 Paid parental leave and gender equality 4 Paid parental leave and female workforce participation 4 Paid parental leave as a health and wellbeing policy 4 Paid parental leave and financial security 5 Australia’s paid parental leave 5 International trends in parental leave entitlement and usage 7 International trends in paid parental leave entitlements 7 Men, paid parental leave entitlements and usage 8 Closing the parental leave usage gap 9 Iceland 9 Sweden 10 Germany 10 Denmark 11 United Kingdom 11 Conclusion 11 Workplace Gender Equality Agency | Towards gender balanced parental leave | www.wgea.gov.au 3 Maternity leave: Employment protected individual leave entitlement for mothers. Father/partner/secondary carers leave: Employment-protected leave for the father/partner, such as paternity leave, individual entitlements to parental leave and any weeks of sharable parental leave that are reserved for use by the father/partner only. Parental leave/primary carers leave: Entitlement for parents to care for young children (either together or one parent at a time). In some cases until the child reaches two or three years of age. Source: OECD Summary Parental leave policies are a major feature of family polices in OECD countries. However, the share of men using parental leave remains low. Parental leave policies are designed to support and protect working parents around the time of childbirth or adoption of a child and when children are young. The availability of paid parental leave for each parent fosters a more equal division of unpaid care and paid work, improving the family work-life balance. Australia’s combined approach to parental leave provides some flexibility about when leave can be used. If available, fathers/partners tend to take employer paid parental leave, rather than government funded parental leave. Key findings Paid parental leave encourages and supports women and men in their role as both employees and carers. Parental leave may help breaking down gender stereotypes around unpaid and paid work if taken by women and men. Across OECD countries, paid parental leave entitlements vary in length, generosity and flexibility. Flexible and generous parental leave policies are encouraging men utilising the entitlement. A supportive workplace culture is key to increase fathers/carers uptake of parental leave. Towards a gender balanced paid parental leave Parental leave policies in OECD countries are expanding, providing entitlements specifically designed to support both working parents. These policy amendments are largely a consequence of changing norms and practices of the traditional gender division between the private and the public sphere.1 Traditional norms of the male breadwinner model, in which men earn a sufficient wage to support a family and women engage in unpaid labour and care have long underpinned state policies towards family support and childcare.2 This means that family policies, including leave entitlements and job protection measures for mothers, rather than for fathers/partners, have been an essential part of OECD countries. For instance, Germany introduced maternity leave rights in 1883 and in 1919 the International Labour Office adopted the first Maternity Protection Conventions, which were subsequently ratified by 33 countries.3 Women’s increasing workforce participation and the decline of the male breadwinner model it is likely that gender- specific specialisations around unpaid care and paid work are slowly disappearing.4 To accommodate these changes it requires some changes in workplaces, including access to flexible working and parental leave. The majority of OECD countries have extended leave entitlements around the birth and adoption of a child to support both parents/carers, recognising that fathers/ partners taking leave is good for children and for women’s labour market outcomes. The shift from maternity to parental leave policies reflects changing societies and family structures. All OECD countries, except the United States, have introduced some form of partner/father specific leave entitlement.5 Sweden was the first country in 1974 to introduce paid parental leave specifically targeting fathers/partners. In 2013, the OECD recommended providing paid leave to working mothers and fathers to promote gender equality.6 Parental leave entitlements continue to vary greatly across OECD countries, in terms of the length, the flexibility, and the level of payments. The availability of parental leave policies encourages fathers/partners to take a greater share in the upbringing of children. Workplace Gender Equality Agency | Towards gender balanced parental leave | www.wgea.gov.au 4 About parental leave Parental leave is the protected leave of absence from employment to allow parents to care for a newborn child, a young child or a recently-adopted child. Paid and unpaid parental leave Paid parental leave is used to describe the various types of paid leave available to employees around the birth or adoption of a child. Unpaid leave is where an employer is required to hold an employee’s job while the employee is on leave. Paid parental leave provides employees with an income while on leave. Paid and unpaid leave benefits and entitlements are usually regulated by law. In many countries, parental leave is government-funded for specific maternity and paternity or parental leave periods. Paid parental leave entitlements varies across countries and is often linked to the individual and their role in the family (i.e. each parent has their own entitlement). This means that in general only one parent claims paid parental leave at any one time. Most OECD countries offer paid or unpaid secondary carer’s leave for a short period directly after the birth or adoption of a child.7 The availability of paid parental leave links to social, demographic and economic benefits, such as positive health effects on mother and child, higher fertility rates, gender equality and increased women’s workforce participation.8 Paid parental leave and gender equality Parental leave policies protect each parent’s job for a period of time following the birth or adoption of a child. Paid parental leave policies that are available for each parent support shared responsibility for raising children. In 2014 a Swiss study showed that if parental leave policies are available to each parent, it enables a more equal division of work between women and men by fostering paternal involvement in the care for a child.9 Similarly, a 2015 study found that the Norwegian paid parental leave policy (46 weeks of parental leave at 100% of the salary and 10 weeks of leave reserved for the co-parent)10 contributes to a shortening of women’s career interruptions and a more equal division of paid and unpaid work among parents.11 These studies show that the availability of paid parental leave for each parent fosters a more equal division of unpaid care and improves family work-life balance. Paid parental leave and female workforce participation Increasing women’s workforce participation is linked to a country’s overall economic performance. In 2014, the Australian Government committed to a G20 target of reducing the workforce participation gap between women and men by 25% by 2025 to boost global GDP.12 More recently some governments, such as Sweden, Norway and Germany, have introduced government-funded paid leave entitlements specifically for fathers to promote greater gender equality in paid and unpaid work.13 Research suggests that government-funded paid parental leave contributes to an increase in women’s workforce participation.14 For instance, the introduction of 12 months paid leave in Germany led to an increase in women’s workforce participation once the child turned one year of age and an increase in the fertility rate.15 Similarly, Norway has increased women’s workforce participation and the fertility rate by implementing policies that promote work-family life balance, such as paid parental leave, the right to work part-time and subsidised child-care.16 Paid parental leave as a health and wellbeing policy The health and wellbeing of new mothers and babies is one of the reasons governments and many employers choose to provide paid leave. It enables women to spend the first weeks of a child's life recovering from the birth and nurturing the baby. For this reason, the International Labour Organisation recommends no less than 14 weeks of maternity leave17 and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends six months, or 26 weeks, of breastfeeding to achieve optimal health for the infant. Paid adoption leave allows new parents and their adoptive child time to develop a relationship and adapt to a new environment. Workplace Gender Equality Agency | Towards gender balanced parental leave | www.wgea.gov.au 5 Paid parental leave and financial security Paid parental leave has a positive impact on the financial position of women and families. WGEA data shows that women’s full-time total remuneration earnings are on average 23.1% ($26,853) less than men’s earnings across all industries and occupations.18 This gender pay gap affects most women in the workforce to some degree over the course of their working lives. It is during the years when many women are balancing paid work with unpaid caring responsibilities in the home that the gender pay gap widens considerably.19 Research by KPMG has shown that 21% of the national gender pay gap is attributable to the years out of the workforce.20 During this time, the cumulative loss of earnings that women experience arguably becomes irreversible, regardless of their subsequent paid employment. Economists have reported that raising children accounts for a 17% loss in lifetime wages for women.21 In addition, many women move into ‘mother-friendly’ occupations and/or return to work part-time following parental leave. The ABS estimates that 82% of mothers returning to work after childbirth work in part-time roles.22 The decisions to change jobs and work part-time following the addition of a new child often have a negative impact on women’s financial situation and future career opportunities. Gender balanced