A new UNICEF report on paternity leaves across the world has some disturbing news. 2 out of every 3 infants in the world live in countries where their dads are not entitled to a single day of paid paternity leave. How do we go about the goal of reducing a mom's burden in parenting and asking the dads to show support if they do not get the required support at the workplace?
What the UNICEF report tells us:
- Around 92 countries in the world do not have a paid paternity leave policy and India, is sadly, one among them.
- In its recommendations to the governments across the world, UNICEF has urged them to implement national family-friendly policies that support early childhood development – including paid paternity leave – to help provide parents with the time, resources and information they need to care for their children.
- And in a first of its kind- UNICEF has announced a 16 week of paid paternity leave for dads in their organisation worldwide.
- “We cannot be ‘For Every Child,’ if we are not also ‘For Every Parent’- the report rightly said.
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And here's the good news:
The UNICEF report claimed how the lawmakers in India have agreed to propose a Paternity Benefit Bill" for consideration in the next session of Parliament. This bill, if implemented, would allow dads upto 3 months of paid paternity leave. Now that's a ray of good hope!
Now we have to wait for the government to make this proposed bill and act- that parents of tomorrow will find immensely useful.
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Mansi Zaveri
Kanishka Pariani
Parul Gupta
KSP Team
