Norway’s paternal quota
A few months ago, I wrote about how Margaret Hodge had argued that increasing paternity leave was pointless because fathers just didn’t bother taking it. I’m currently preparing a paper on different approaches to supporting fathers’ involvement in their children’s early lives in Norway and Germany. The Norwegian experience shows just how successful the right kind of public policies can be.
Parents in Norway have the right to a paid leave of absence during the first year of a child’s life. Parents may choose to take a total of 46 weeks of leave at 100 per cent pay or 56 weeks at 80 per cent pay.
To encourage more men to assume a greater share of care-giving responsibilities, 10 weeks of parental leave are reserved for fathers. This is known as the paternal quota. If a father does not use his quota, these weeks will be forfeited. Norway was the first country in the world to establish such a scheme.
Since 1977 fathers have had the right to share parental leave with mothers. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the 1990s only 2-3 per cent of all fathers were taking advantage of this opportunity. The paternal quota was introduced in 1993 to encourage more fathers to participate in caring for their child during its first year of life.
In 2008, 90 per cent of fathers used their paternal quota and a growing number of men are choosing to take more leave than their quota. In 2008, 16.5 per cent of fathers extended their leave beyond the reserved 10 weeks, compared to 11 per cent in 2000.
The figures are fantastic and, set against the British experience, astonishing. It turns paternity leave from being a kind of holiday into a period of time when fathers and children can build strong and lasting bonds.
A recent study by Lancaster University management school shows that there are significant and ongoing changes in attitudes towards parenting, here in the UK. Let’s hope that we learn the lessons from Norway.
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Norway’s paternal quota
24/12/2010 Leave a Comment
A few months ago, I wrote about how Margaret Hodge had argued that increasing paternity leave was pointless because fathers just didn’t bother taking it. I’m currently preparing a paper on different approaches to supporting fathers’ involvement in their children’s early lives in Norway and Germany. The Norwegian experience shows just how successful the right kind of public policies can be.
Parents in Norway have the right to a paid leave of absence during the first year of a child’s life. Parents may choose to take a total of 46 weeks of leave at 100 per cent pay or 56 weeks at 80 per cent pay.
To encourage more men to assume a greater share of care-giving responsibilities, 10 weeks of parental leave are reserved for fathers. This is known as the paternal quota. If a father does not use his quota, these weeks will be forfeited. Norway was the first country in the world to establish such a scheme.
Since 1977 fathers have had the right to share parental leave with mothers. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the 1990s only 2-3 per cent of all fathers were taking advantage of this opportunity. The paternal quota was introduced in 1993 to encourage more fathers to participate in caring for their child during its first year of life.
In 2008, 90 per cent of fathers used their paternal quota and a growing number of men are choosing to take more leave than their quota. In 2008, 16.5 per cent of fathers extended their leave beyond the reserved 10 weeks, compared to 11 per cent in 2000.
The figures are fantastic and, set against the British experience, astonishing. It turns paternity leave from being a kind of holiday into a period of time when fathers and children can build strong and lasting bonds.
A recent study by Lancaster University management school shows that there are significant and ongoing changes in attitudes towards parenting, here in the UK. Let’s hope that we learn the lessons from Norway.
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