Want men to share parental leave? Just give them equality | Duncan Fisher

The government’s ‘share the joy’ campaign is a waste of £1.5m. Ditch it for a system that’s fair to fathers and better for families

The £1.5m “share the joy” campaign launched by the government to promote the policy of shared parental leave is going to fail. Guaranteed. It is a waste of public money at a time of desperate need elsewhere.

The minimal take-up of shared parental leave in the UK, estimated, in the absence of reliable statistics, at about 2% of 285,000 eligible couples annually, has happened because the policy is wrong. In other countries and regions, when appropriate shared-leave entitlements have been introduced, uptake has soared: for example, to 91% in Iceland, 86% in Quebec and 63% in Portugal. These changes happened fast after creating systems that worked for parents: as withtaking the lid off a pressure cooker, the resulting demand came in a rush. So rather than flog a dead horse, the government should listen to parents and go back to the drawing board.

If fathers were offered the same as mothers, they would take leave in huge numbers

Related: Minister promoting shared parental leave says he can’t take shared leave

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from Children | The Guardian http://ift.tt/2GgxeEG