Gender Equality

How does parental leave impact gender equality and the gender pay gap?

This topic came up at one of the conferences I hosted recently for International Women's Day. It's a topic that impacts many of us – of all genders. This is not simply about micro-aggressions or subtle bias. This is about institutionalised discrimination, that keeps men and women stuck in traditional roles despite what they might really want. For most heterosexual couples, women take on the role of primary caregiver and are the ones who take the long period of maternity leave or a break from their careers altogether. Whilst it may seem like a personal choice, the reality is the parental leave policies in place within most organisations make women the primary carers by default. Many still do not have the right provisions to enable families to have a completely free and equal choice around who takes parental leave in those early months and years, having a knock-on effect more than just the mother's career. What have your experiences been with parental leave? Are you a father who has been unable to share the childcare responsibilities with your partner because the current system is not fit for purpose? Maybe you work for an organisation that has an equal parental leave allowance for all genders?