How Is Parental Leave Improving Gender Equality At Work?
In Australia, the gender pay gap is closing and people of all genders are
increasingly aligned in salary, conditions and entitlements. But despite this
progress, women still earn almost $25,800 a year less, on average, than men.
Companies in Australia are tackling this inequality head-on, through their
policies. Some, such as Volvo Car Australia, have introduced parental leave
policies to drive shared, equal responsibility for every parent. We hope that
this will create lasting change as women are still much more likely than men to
be primary caregivers. What are your thoughts LiveTribers? How is parental leave
improving gender equality at work?
Posted by on 22 Sep 2022
[0]
[0]
MS
That's fine, but let her pay for it.
Women didn't always get free time off with paid leave.
We have too many parents now demanding middle class welfare or handouts.
There are a lot of employers who cannot afford to pay this.
Not all are equal!
In a big company yes,but not smaller ones.
If a woman is breast feeding she has to be front and centre. The woman's body
is going through the aftermath of the birth which is sometimes traumatic and
then all the hormone changes again. She also needs to bond with the child. If
the male has time off then perhaps the first 2 weeks where he can take up the
extra house workload to give the wife the time to heal but in my experience, not
many men will do this. They have the time off so they either go out golfing
etc. or sit in front of the TV etc. Yes some men are terrific and I have known
1 or 2 but the majority are not up for it. The responsibility inevitably always
falls on the women.
Updated parental leaves to encourage men to take time off to be primary
caregivers, seems like a good idea in theory. But in reality, women are still
the one who is more likely to take maternal leave off, despite the male
counterparts having that option. I guess it has been a long inbuilt maternal
instinct. I don't think this will directly affect the gender pay gap or gender
equality.
It is going to be a long slow process before the gender pay gap diminishes.
Current forecasts for closing the Pay Gap are decades away so any measures that
begin to address this are welcome. Policies that acknowledge the need for
equality are the beginning of a culture shift that benefits both Women & Men and
need I say their children.
I don't think it us helping the pay gap ... how could it?
If a woman is away from work to have a baby and the on maternity leave, a woman
can lose momentum on keeping up to date with everything. Children means the
woman has less time to concentrate on other things including work.
Anyone who thinks they xan be superwoman is kidding themselves .. you just can't
do 2 such enormous jobs to the best.
Then the carer or mostly woman has leave when kids are sick, goes early or
leaves workplace to watch Johnny at presentation or school activity and it goes
on and on.
For those at the workplace turning up every day, have to pick up the pieces of
the usually mother, who has her foot in kids stuff and the other in the
workplace.
I am not against women working and had to myself FT Ppt casual at various times
in my life. I work still but kids grown up.
But I have to ask, just hiw much do people want?
They want children but someone else to mind them while they work then they want
childcare paid for by the raxpayer. To me it would make more sense to bring back
the subsidy fir wife ir husband whoever it us to Stay home for the years before
school and bring up their own kids versus stress on kids and family and
workplace cost to taxpayers farming them out to childcare.
The other way seems like total madness to me. I tried working FT sending kids to
care, and nearly nervous breakdown .. I had marriage great down and single
parent which added to stress.
But for the families with 2 parents, I think it is more positive if one stays
home in the tender young age years if a child's life, the child especially
benefits from the personal attention and training and love given by parent.
Parenting is THE most important job in the world .. bringing up the next
generation .. equal pay rights etc they mean not much in the scheme of a
child's life. Do one job properly I say, the most important job.
I agree that one parent needs to stay home full time which is usually the woman,
however, these days homes need 2 pay packets to survive. Of course, when I was
young we built our home which had nothing fancy in it, no landscaping, fences,
not painted inside or out, no floor coverings or blinds and the list went on.
We built up these things over time and did most of the work ourselves. It seems
now everything that opens and shuts has to be in the homes and the men expect
the women to work and do all the other household duties and raise the children.
Some men are getting better or seem to be getting better at sharing the load but
if push comes to shove they still think it is women's work. Gender pay gap will
always be there as will the glass ceiling and boys clubs. I think respect for
women is becoming less and less.
I think though if a woman wants to work then that is her choice and she has to
work out a balance somehow. It is just the way it is. Of course some women
have to work due to the marriage or partnership breaking down.
Not helping the pay gap, just pay women that do the same job the same amount of
money first. Then parenting leave can be taken by whoever chooses to look after
the baby, though I do believe it should be the one who gives birth because of
the contention and breast feeding is best and mum needs to rest enough in
between times.
More men are using the parental leave and actually helping with the baby and
even doing chores around the house - a far cry from when i had my kids when
parental leave for males was unheard of. I suppose a lot more relationships
start on more of an equal footing with the sharing of chores
I am unsure that this is the answer however it may be a small step towards
equality. I actually feel that the best person for the position should be paid
according to their experience and what they bring for the organisation
regardless of age, race, sexuality or gender
And the people who choose not to have children.... How do they get compensated.
Are they then excluded from the leave because they have not got children?
If men want maternity leave they should expect women to be paid the same in my
day mum's looked after kids dad's worked I know it's much harder these days but
if men want what women get they should give women what men get especially if job
is same!!!!!!
I think the increasing trend of people working from home will help close the pay
gap because it will enable women to better balance work and caregiving duties.
Equal responsibility of both parents is good and I applaud Volvo for doing this,
however, I don't think wage equality is going to be improved in many other
businesses. Women will still be paid less than men even for doing the same job,
in my opinion we have a long way to go here in Australia.
When I was in the workforce the pay rate was the same for both men and women,
but most women worked less hours. Parental paid leave wouldn't change that.
I feel there are some employers who make it appear on paper as though they as
gender equal in terms of pay grades but in reality are still favouring a
majority of males for higher paying and positions of the greatest responsibility
because the workplaces don't want inconsistency created by women taking parental
leave. Changes to parental leave entitlements might help in some circumstances
but I suspect this kind of underhanded behaviour will take a long time to really
stamp out.
My line of work is equal pay regardless of gender. Part of the reason I
persuaded my daughter to pursue a healthcare profession (more opportunities for
part time positions too). Sadly she has no interest in being a healthcare
professional.
Parental leave to be shared equally by both is a very rewarding and satisfying
challenge for any parent. Not only does it give the female the opportunity to go
back to work, but for me, it's giving the (male) the proud dad, to bound with
their wee baby..
Gender equality is a fantastic incentive for either parent.
Honestly, it’s just life as a woman. Taking time to start a family is
obviously always going to set you back. It’s the choice you take. My 2 sisters
have chosen not to start a family and they earn just as much as their male
counterparts.
Gender paying gaps are not closing to me. However, having parental leave for the
male parent definitely helps the women as we can have one more mostly needed
person and one more pairs of hands in need when the blokes are mostly in need.
We need more than just maternal leave but paternal leave to make women's life
easier.
It isn't closing the pay gap but it is closing the expectation that both parents
should be given time to parent their child and it not be exclusive to the
Mother.
I think if parental leave is equally available to both parents, then it
definitely can improve gender equality. half the reason is the missed super, but
with good parental leave available to either parent, this can be mitigated. very
few people can afford to be fulltime parents anymore unfortunately anyway
Equal leave gives both parents an option to raise their child for a bit as well
as go back into the workforce so they feel they are being utilised in all
aspects of their life. No one misses out.
There is a tight line that has to be walked between gender equality and
employee/employer equality. You can mandate paid leave for both parents and have
it as long as you like but it has to be affordable to the employer and to
society. I think this topic has too narrow a focus. Yes both parents should
receive eth same money if they do the same job and be entitled to time off. But
is it fair to the business to have to fill a position with a casual for two
years whilst someone is on maternity leave?
I think it really does come down to WHY the parental is being taken, I think
it's obvious that the mother NEEDS to recover and the father needs to both bond
with the baby and HELP the mother recover by giving her rest. In my culture,
mothers have their mothers, sisters, Aunties and cousins come along and support
the baby and mother by taking the baby when the mother needs rest. Feeds her
and helps around the house as the father usually is not able to stay home but is
gathering working for the food. Society is different now and FATHERS are much
needed to bond with the babies so if done right, then Parental leave would help
bring equality.
SO that if mum rests then IF she wants to or needs to go back to work then she
can. She can return to work with more peace of mind that this newborn baby has
their PARENT at home loving them at the early stages of life.
Parental leave directly impact the gender equality, but we also need to
considere educate children in school, boys to be in charge of the household and
women to to grow in a household where is natural and common for men to
contribute equally.
Absolutely there should be equal pay for the same jobs. If there was more
parental leave then that should drive equal pay as well. It will happen
gradually I think. There is still a long way to go.
I have never since the age of 25 earned less than a male. I always ask the same
question when offered a job, how much does the job pay?, then how much is a
female paid for that job?. If I am told that a female is paid less, I thank them
and say 'hopefully you'll get a male that can do the job better than I. I have
only missed out on three jobs over my 40 years working since then.
If you choose to be a parent, it should be your responsibility, not your
employer's. It's also unfair that those who choose not to have children are
disadvantaged. I do believe though, that everyone should get equal pay for a
job, regardless of gender.
You should be payed by the job you do. Man or women, black or white, old or
young. Just as long as you do the job, there should be a set pay. I think there
should be no parental leave. It’s not your employers responsibility because
you want kids, and have to hold your job while your not there. It’s
ridiculous.
I used to own my own business, and found the extra money we had to pay for
parental leave, maternity leave, superannuation, and many more "perks" for all
employees, was just too much, and as you say, if a women decides to get in the
family way while working, it should not be up to the employer to support her and
her other half, male or female, and continue to pay them for being in that
condition and not being productive for the business. There are a lot of "perks"
that should be scrapped to be honest.
Personally, I'm so over hearing all this gender inequality for many things, pay,
work conditions, treatment of women etc., and it never seems to end.
I also think that women have more rights than men, and that men should grow some
and stand up for ourselves, it is getting way too politically correct, and
ridiculous in the world of women lately in my opinion.
The way things are going with these bra burning females it should be men
fighting for equal rights. IMO every job or task should be assigned to the most
capable person NOT the pc "Give it to a female" that we seem to be brainwashed
into going along with nowadays. If a woman is better at something or more
qualified I'm fine with them doing it. I can see no rational reason why a job
has to be given to someone based on the "equality" policy dreamed up by some
bored idiot with nothing better to do with their time.
If you think women have more rights than men clearly you haven't any
understanding of the MURDEROUS IDEOLOGY of ISLAM!
Quran 2:282 states that women are half wits and Bukhari Volume 1 Book 6 Hadith
301 Muhammad said that women are deficient of intelligence.
So much for equality!
Parental leave ought to be shared between the parents. No doubt the birthing
parent usually a female needs more consideration both ante and post natal. For
the life of me I cannot fathom wage inequality as ALL the employment I've
experienced has involved the EXACT same salary regardless of gender for
performing the same tasks. Where in the workforce are the greatest examples of
gender based wage inequality? Some may negatively can Employment Unions but
where they are fostered gender pay differences for the same tasks are rare! So
who is b--lshitting whom on this?
