Finland: the country where fathers spend more time with kids than mothers
La Finlande, pays des papas poules.
Comment atteindre l'égalité hommes-femmes ? La Finlande, l’un des pays les plus égalitaires au monde, montre la voie avec une politique familiale tournée vers l'équilibre entre les parents, et ce dès la naissance. Plongée dans le pays des papas très impliqués…
To Americans and Britons, the Nordic countries have come to represent a near-mythical paradise of gender equality and family harmony, where legions of happy fathers push prams through the streets, relaxed mothers enjoy lengthy paid maternity leaves, and wellnourished 1. pram landau / lengthy long / maternity leave congé maternité / children in chunky sweaters glow from their free healthcare.
2.But even against that backdrop, one statistic about Finland, a nation of 5.5 million, stands chunky ici, épais / sweater pull-over / to glow rayonner / healthcare ici, couverture santé. 2. against that backdrop... dans ce contexte / out: according to a recent OECD report, it’s the only country in the developed world where fathers spend more time with school-aged children than mothers, to the tune of eight minutes a day.
to stand, stood, stood out se démarquer / OECD OCDE (Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques) / school-aged en âge d'aller à l'école / to the tune of à hauteur de.
3.The Global Gender Gap report rated Finland the second most equal country in the world in 2016, and the Economist recently rated it the third best country to be a working mom. How did it get there? It’s a story of collective action and political will, of a strong tradition of social democracy and an accommodating tax system. But it also boils down to a key difference in how Finland frames the conversation: it’s not about what’s good for adults – it’s about what’s good for children.
4.“This is a question of gender equality, but it’s more a question of the rights of the child,” says Annika Saarikko, Finland’s minister of family affairs and social services, one of six female ministers out of a cabinet of eleven. “This is not about the mother’s right or the father’s right – but the child’s right to spend time with both parents.”
5.While she advocates for fathers, Saarikko is also a fitting example of how mothers in Finland are to a degree liberated from the constraints of motherhood by the country’s supportive policies. She is 33 and has a three-year-old child in full-time public daycare. Her husband also works full-time. “You can be a young woman and a minister here,” she says. “My situation is not abnormal. In Finland it is normal to combine work and family – it’s not easy, but it’s not impossible.”
SUPPORT FROM THE START
6.The Finnish state strives to provide both mothers and fathers with meaningful social support before their child is even born. When parents have a child in Finland, they don’t have to worry about a huge medical bill. A pregnant woman with no complications can expect to be seen between 11 to 15 times before giving birth for free, and the cost of having a baby is nominal. Meanwhile, in the US, a delivery alone costs an average 3. gender gap inégalités hommes-femmes / to rate classer / equal ici, égalitaire / will volonté / accommodating arrangeant / to boil down to ici, tenir à / to frame ici, présenter / conversation ici, débat. 4. cabinet ici, gouvernement. 5. to advocate for soutenir, plaider en faveur de / fitting example exemple parfait / to a degree dans une certaine mesure / motherhood maternité / supportive policy politique de soutien / daycare garderie, crèche / abnormal exceptionnel. 6. to strive, strove, striven (to) s’efforcer (de) / meaningful significatif, important / bill facture ici, frais / pregnant enceinte / nominal symbolique, insignifiant / meanwhile ici, par comparaison / delivery accouchement / $10,000, while a caesarean delivery costs over $15,000, according to the International Federation of Health Plans (IFHP).
7.Once the baby is born, Finland gives mothers about four months of paid maternity leave and fathers a little more than two months of paid leave. On top of all that, couples can share an additional five-plus months of paid parental leave between them.
8.Even after the parental leave period ends, one parent has the right to stay home, and get “paid” €450 a month, and return to the same job until the child is three years old.
9.For Sami Sulin, who works in the back office of a bank, the benefit offered a welcome opportunity to spend time with his daughter. He stayed at home for a full 10 months from the time she was 10 months old, and he says an increasing number of his friends are doing the same.
FINLAND COMPARED WITH THE US
10.Most parents, including mothers, do eventually go back to work – and when they do, the state provides universal daycare. At its most expensive, the service costs only €290 a month. For comparison, in the US, full-time childcare costs 85% of a family’s median rent in some places – and can be more expensive than sending your child to college.
11.None of this comes cheap, of course. Taxes account for 44% of Finland’s GDP, compared with about 25% in the US. Someone earning $1.2m a year would pay as much as 51.5% to the state.
12.“Americans will say we pay a lot of tax, and it’s true, we do. I pay a lot, but I don’t lose any sleep over it,” says Aspiala, the sales manager. “Of course I would like to pay less tax, I would like the public sector to be less heavy – but I’m caesarean (par) césarienne. 7. on top of all that en prime. 8. back office services administratifs. 9. benefit allocation / welcome bienvenu, appréciable. 10. eventually à terme, finir par / at its most expensive ici, dans le pire des cas / childcare garde, prise en charge des enfants / rent loyer / college (US) université. 11. none of this comes cheap et tout cela coûte cher / to account for représenter / GDP = gross domestic product PIB / to earn gagner (argent). comfortable with it. I know that I am a net giver rather than net receiver, but if my tax goes to help someone worse off, then OK. Finns have a pretty deep-rooted idea of social democracy.”
13.So does Finland agree with the American perception that it’s a utopian paradise? Not yet. The gender pay gap still hovers at 16% to 18%, depending on which measure is used, which is not dissimilar to the 17% to 20% in the US. Most professions are still dominated by one gender. And women make up only 23% of board members in listed companies. But the government is actively working to improve these figures.
14.So where does the country go from here? The next big push for greater gender balance may just come from fathers, predicts Katja Lahti, 43, who writes a popular family blog Project Mama. “It feels like a real millennial movement of fathers who are asking for more, who want their voice heard,” she says. “It’s like they want to have it all.” O 12. I’m comfortable with it ça me va / worse off moins bien loti, moins riche / Finn Finlandais / deep-rooted profondément enraciné, ancré. 13. to hover ici, osciller / dissimilar ici, éloigné / to make, made, made up représenter / board ici, conseil d'administration / listed coté (en Bourse) / figure chiffre. 14. push demande, pression(s) / balance équilibre / millennial ici, propre au nouveau millénaire, à une nouvelle génération.