Montreal Gazette

Paternity leave is a feminist issue

- ALLISON HANES

If Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wanted to prove his feminist bona fides, he should have given Canadian dads exclusive paternity leave in the federal budget.

I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but loads of research based on the Quebec example back this up. After giving mothers paid maternity leave, nothing supports women, helps families and promotes equality of the sexes like dedicated benefits for dads.

Quebec, which has had its own parental insurance plan for the last decade, has long been the envy of families in the rest of Canada. It pays higher premiums and offers five weeks of dads-only leave in addition to paid time that can be split by both parents.

These use-them-or-lose-them paternity benefits can be taken at the same time as the mother — and are mainly used in the tumultuous and sleep-deprived first weeks after a baby is born.

Unfortunat­ely, changes to the parental leave plan in the rest of Canada announced last week left dads out. And that’s a glaring omission for a federal budget supposedly geared toward women and children.

The Trudeau government said that families will soon be allowed to stretch existing benefits paid out under the Employment Insurance program over 18 months, up from the current one year. Given that average daycare costs are much higher outside Quebec, this added flexibilit­y might help some families. But claiming less money over a longer pay-out period is not as generous as it sounds.

Yes, the federal program, like Quebec’s, already allows fathers to share the leave with their partners. And many men outside Quebec use vacation to be present in those first precious weeks of their child’s life. But as data from Quebec clearly shows, giving dads their own time has far-reaching consequenc­es.

First of all, more fathers take time to be with their children when it is available to them. Since Quebec created its own parental insurance program in 2006, almost 80 per cent of dads take their five weeks. But a greater share of Quebec men also go on to use some of the 32 weeks of benefits that can be shared by either parent. In Quebec, 38 per cent of fathers take parental leave versus 16 per cent in the rest of Canada, according to the Institute for Research on Public Policy, which recently compared the two programs.

This high uptake has a positive influence on families, according to an overview of social, economic and employment data conducted by the Conseil de gestion de l’assurance parentale evaluating the first 10 years of the Quebec program.

Studies show that paid maternity leave can reduce the psychologi­cal distress some new mothers experience, like postpartum depression and anxiety. Some research indicates paid paternity leave can further lessen these symptoms, although there’s no guarantee. The takeaway finding is that the presence of the father and his involvemen­t in parenting were the key factors in alleviatin­g the stress of new moms. And paternity leave provides an opportunit­y for dads to just be there.

It also serves a powerful bit of social engineerin­g when it comes to pushing the boundaries of traditiona­l gender roles. A more equal division of household labour remains among the final frontiers of feminism. Statistics indicate women still do three times as much housework as men, even if they work outside the home. But research on Quebec dads demonstrat­es those who took their five weeks off tend to be more involved in childcare and domestic labour, even years later. So paternity leave is a long-term investment in gender equality.

Couples sharing chores can improve everything from the happiness of their marriages to the spiciness of their sex lives, And it might have a positive influence on subsequent generation­s, too, with one University of British Columbia study showing dads who pitch in inspire their daughters to have more ambitious career goals.

Social scientists posit that the first weeks and months after bringing home baby mark “a crucial moment in the renegotiat­ion of domestic work within a couple.” Thus policies that give fathers an incentive to be present is helping them acquire the skills and confidence to be hands-on parents for life. Or as one author in guys’ mag GQ succinctly explained: Paternity leave provides new dads with “a crash course in children following the proven method of ‘learning by doing.’ ”

Paternity leave is certainly not a pre-requisite to being a dedicated father and a good partner. Many men accomplish this without the help of a social program that pays them to assume their responsibi­lities. But the point is that when it comes to society encouragin­g men to do their part, when it comes to policies that help bridge the remaining gender gaps in the home and workplace, when it comes to the government supporting families with young children, this is what a progressiv­e countries do.

Paternity leave is a feminist issue. Too bad our feminist prime minister forgot.

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 ?? CLIFFORD SKARSTEDT ?? Paternity leave gives fathers a chance to be there for their children, and their presence and involvemen­t in parenting are key factors in alleviatin­g the stress new mothers can face, Allison Hanes writes.
CLIFFORD SKARSTEDT Paternity leave gives fathers a chance to be there for their children, and their presence and involvemen­t in parenting are key factors in alleviatin­g the stress new mothers can face, Allison Hanes writes.

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