Gender Equality Wins! Finland To Offer 7 Months Of Equal Parental Leaves To Men & Women
Finland announced a new policy that will grant paid parental leaves to both parents in a family. Each parent will get nearly seven months of leave- making it a total of 14 months of paid leaves. Pregnant partners are also entitled to a month of pregnancy leave before the expected date of birth.
Till early 2019 a nation run by women only existed in people's imagination. It soon became a reality when Finland made the young Sanna Marin its Prime Minister. The government in Finland has been formed by five parties in coalition all of which have women leaders and now they are showing the world what a nation led by women can be like: Equal for all genders.
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On Wednesday, Finland announced a new policy that will grant paid parental leaves to both parents in a family. Each parent will get nearly seven months of leave- making it a total of 14 months of paid leaves. Pregnant partners are also entitled to a month of pregnancy leave before the expected date of birth.
The idea behind the ¡®radical reform¡¯ according to the Minister of Health and Social is both to improve gender equality and to boost a declining birth rate.
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"This enables better equality between parents and diversity among families," Al Jazeera quoted her as saying.
The new policy designed to be gender-neutral is expected to come into effect soon as fall 2021. It will eliminate gender-based allowances that currently grant about four months of paid leave to mothers and about two months to fathers.
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According to reports, parents can even transfer 69 days from their own quota of leaves to the other parent. A single parent can also access the allowance for both parents.
Gender equality is a priority for the women-led government in Finland and with this policy, they have proven that they are serious about it.
