As the Rajya Sabha passed a Bill doubling the maternity leave to 26 weeks, the demand to introduce paternity leave norms to enable fathers to be active in childcare is also gathering momentum.
It's important to remember that dads also have a responsibility in bringing up a child and child-rearing should be done equally between both partners.
In joint families, parenting is a relatively easy task, but in a nuclear family, on the other hand, it becomes quite a daunting responsibility. In this context, it might be important for the government to bring in a legislation to allow fathers to avail paternity pay and additional leave.
Many countries do have laws mandating paternity leave, and several companies across the world have started to offer parental leave to their male employees.
The corporate world took notice when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took a two-month paternity leave after his daughter was born. In fact, the company has extended its global paid paternity leave to four months for new fathers as well. Notably, these companies use the inclusive term ‘parental leave’ rather than the worn-out ‘maternity leave’ to describe the provision.
If both parents are working with the same company, they are eligible for the full amount of leave available. They can either avail the benefits together or at different times.
For example, the parental leave can be taken together by the partners when the child is born, and later it can be shared so that they can take turns to look after their child. It would definitely give a father more time to bond with the newborn, and he can share in the tasks and joy of bringing up a baby as well. It also increases the likelihood of stronger affectional bonds to form between partners.
When I gave birth to my son, I was working with the Aluva branch of the Federal Bank. Since my mother and mother-in-law were there to help, the vagaries of pregnancy and childbirth did not bother me much. But, there was nobody to help us when my daughter was born when we were in America. My husband, who was working at Wipro, opted to take leave to look after the child. After about two months, I joined the Texas University's part-time master's degree course. During day time, I took care of the kid, and when I attended evening classes, I left her in the care of my husband. That is how we managed to bring up our three-year-old son and the three-month-old daughter in the absence of relatives.
I have met several first-time parents who grapple with the issue of childcare, every day, everywhere. In 2014, UST Global introduced a policy which allowed new fathers to take a three-day leave from work. As per records, as many as 500 employees took the paternity leave they are entitled to in 2015 while around 300 men have availed themselves of the benefit so far this year. I believe this statistics bears testimony to the growing awareness of the concept of paternity leave.
That being said, I have genuine doubts about the practical viability of this concept in the government sector. The practice of government employees claiming long leaves, even up to ten years, for going abroad to take up jobs there is rampant. Even if husbands are paid to stay at home when the child is born, there are high chances of misusing that entitlement. They may use the paid leave for other purposes than taking care of the child. In fact, the private sector too faces similar challenges while promoting such employee benefits.
At UST Global, we offer additional maternity benefit of three months to new mothers apart from the compulsory three-month leave. That means all employees, regardless of the projects they are working on, are entitled to a total of six months of paid leave.
In general, the IT sector shows unusual generosity when it comes to maternity policies. Most of the companies encourage marriage between employees and they are offered special benefits.
If you live in big cities, you cannot expect constant help or support from relatives or family friends as everyone is busy with their own lives. Unlike in the past, hiring a nanny/maid too is tough job.
Introduction of paternity incentives appears to be the only way out. It would definitely help dispel the social stigma attached to a father’s role in parenting. It could also be an unequivocal step towards gender equality.
(The author is the Center Head of UST Global at Technopark)
