David Cameron, the British prime minister, has just announced that he will be taking paternity leave to spend time with his wife and new daughter. Under British law, new fathers are entitled to two weeks paid time off.
First of all our congratulations to he and his wife. It's their fourth child, and I simply cannot imagine. Two is more than enough. At least with two you can do man-to-man defense. With more than that you're having to run zone and that's just not as effective.
Second, hooray for him taking the time off! This is an enormous step in the right direction. Can you image in the president, speaker of the house or majority/minority leader taking time off to be with their new child? Not likely, and that is the true tragedy. (In fairness, Tony Blair also did not take time off with the birth of one of his children, although he did cut back his schedule.)
While in poll after poll most men say they would like to take extended time off after the birth or adoption of a new child, few actually do it. There is still an at least perceived stigma against this in our society. Many men are concerned that their companies will not look at them as favorably as before and will believe they are not as dedicated to their jobs, and hence to the company, as other employees.
While there have been some women's organizations that have pushed for paid leave for men, the support has not been as strong as I believe it should be. Because not only does this benefit men and their connection with their families, it also benefits women. Until men are just as likely to take time off because of pregnancy, until men as just as likely to stay at home with a sick child, and until men are seen by their employers as just as important to their families as women are, then there will always be employers who are going to prefer hiring males so they can avoid all of these issues. (Let's remember is was only 90 years ago yesterday that women were given the constitutional right to vote.)
I was very fortunate to be able to spend time with both of my daughters after they were born. The first because I was just completing my degree and so was only working part-time which allowed me to be home during the day with her. The second because I was a member of a union and so was provided four weeks of paid leave to be with her and my wife. While I did find that most other men also took some time off, I was the only one who took all four weeks at once. Most others just lightened their work loads, or only took a couple of weeks. That obviously is not an option for new moms, and so it is very important for men to take the time when they can get it. That is why this is an incredibly important move for Cameron to make.
This is an enormous step in the right direction. Cameron has now said to the rest of the males in England that it is okay to take time off. If the PM can do it, certainly they can do it, and everyone will benefit from that move.
Paid time off is an issue that the church should take very seriously and we should be advocates for equal treatment and also for greater flexibility, accountability and for longer periods of time.
Men with whom I work, have gotten push back if they take time off with the birth of a child. The only exception to this was a fellow teacher who had a seriously ill newborn. He took several weeks while his new son had numerous operations and was in the hospital. I have no idea if this was paid time off or if he had to take leave without pay.
ReplyDeleteThis brings up a loophole in the Family Medical Leave Act. Only your job is protected; it does not require you to be paid during this time. Imagine the costs associated with a serious illness (even with medical insurance) exasperated by unpaid leave.
Last November, the male teacher I work closely with had a daughter. There were complications at the end of his wife's pregnancy so he took a week or so off while expecting to have an emergency delivery anytime and going from one doctor's appointment to another. After a safe delivery of a healthy baby, he took another week to be home with is new family. He was told in no uncertain terms that paternity leave was not covered. It became a game of semantics. He took sick leave to cover his almost 3 weeks. Luckily, he had the sick leave.
A few weeks later, his wife developed postpartum depression. He was afraid to take even a day off because of the trouble with taking the previous time off. His wife had serious medical condition and needed his support and care but they system was pushing him to work, work, work.
Maternity Leave and Paternity Leave are not extended vacations. They are essential time for healing and recovery while dealing with an enormous life change. This is leave provided to support a healthy family. If employers look at the big picture, they will see that allowing men and women to take this leave and care for their young child they are more likely to have a healthy family and less likely to need time off at a later.