In 2021, the Year of Celebrating SG Women, it is time we take a stronger hand in reshaping men and women’s traditional roles in the family. At the IPS-Nathan Lecture Series this year, 8th S R Nathan Fellow and Executive Director of AWARE, Corinna Lim, shared that Singapore’s current parental leave policies contribute to gender inequality in the workforce: “This expectation sets up a situation where women have to choose between their careers and their children.”
A reconsideration of our parental and paternity leave policies would certainly benefit women’s position in the workforce, tackle barriers to entry for women, such as a need for flexibility when seeking a job, and allow them to seek or continue in positions of greater responsibility. A more equal share of parental leave would also have less tangible benefits by allowing fathers to be more involved in their children’s lives and reducing the caregiving load placed on mothers.
Singapore’s current parental policies allocate two weeks of government-paid paternity leave to the father, 16 weeks of government-paid maternity leave to the mother, four of which can be taken by the father with the mother’s approval. Uptake of paternity leave in Singapore has been relatively low, and waned in the last few years, with only 35 per cent of fathers taking any paternity leave in 2018, compared to 53 per cent in 2017.
This uptake reflects disparity in expectations not only of childcare responsibilities for mothers and fathers, but also of women and men in the workforce. Men are hesitant to apply for childcare leave from employers because they fear consequences in terms of employment, particularly in the private sector, where considerably fewer men take paternity leave.
Research indicates that a highly competitive work atmosphere impedes fathers from wanting to take leave, as they fear losing out on workplace opportunities. Japan, which similarly has an ageing population and strong company culture, offers generous parental leave but still suffers from a large inequality of uptake between parents — around 7 per cent of fathers compared to 83 per cent of mothers in 2019.
A survey conducted in 2017 again demonstrated that a majority of men either did not want to take leave or wanted to but felt they could not do so, citing reasons such as an unfavourable work atmosphere, pay loss and career impediments.
The results of this study suggest that a change in attitudes is needed — simply extending paternity leave when it is already seen as disposable may not be enough to encourage men to take on a greater role in the family. Society ought to first incentivise fathers to take the paternity leave they are already entitled to.
Several countries, particularly across the European Union (EU), have attempted to tackle such attitudes over the last decade, notably adopting a “use it or lose it” paternity leave policy. “Use it or lose it” policies vary across countries: Norway dedicates equal individual quotas of 15 weeks of parental leave to each parent, while Germany has introduced a “father bonus” — an additional two months of paid parental leave for either parent to take up if the father takes at least two months of the initial parental leave.
Countries that implemented bonus leave — a policy that does not yet exist in Singapore — have seen the largest boosts in uptake across the EU. Portugal, which has mandatory paternity leave of 15 working days and provides a bonus 30 days for either parent if the initial parental leave is shared between parents, has seen an increase from 10 per cent in 2009 to 34 per cent in 2016 of fathers sharing the initial parental leave.
While these policies tend to be applied to shared parental leave, which often has an even lower uptake by fathers than paternity leave, they should be modified to work for Singapore’s paternity leave entitlement, such that employers have the option to offer households with fathers, who take their full two weeks of government-paid paternity leave, some amount of employer-paid bonus leave.
Since the bonus leave would be provided by the employer, it need not be mandated by the Government. Nevertheless, it sends a strong signal to both employers and the public that we must shift further towards gender equality — particularly as the employment of this policy in the public service can act as a model for others.
Finland, which has one of the highest uptakes globally, has a “use it or lose it” paternity leave of nine weeks, and if the fathers take the last two weeks of their paternity leave, they receive a bonus two weeks, paid at a higher wage-replacement rate. Providing a bonus based on paternity rather than shared parental leave ensures that mothers will still be entitled to their full amount of maternity leave.
The implementation of such a policy would not go without challenges. First, gender equality in the workforce is already well-established in the countries where “use it or lose it” has had the most positive impact on uptake; it is uncertain whether this will be a significant enough change to boost uptake in Singapore.
Secondly, there are employers’ concerns about productivity and worker compensation. Hence, it would be up to the employer to decide whether or not to offer bonus fathers’ leave. However, the policy could act as a way for employers to signal that they are an inclusive, balanced workspace and are in line with Singapore’s long-term goals, including supporting more women to both work and raise their families.
In spite of these challenges, encouraging more fathers to take paternity leave is an important first step towards gender equality both in terms of caregiving and in the labour force. Wanting a family should require balance, not unequal sacrifice. Fatherhood should be celebrated as the norm rather than the exception. Adopting the “use it or lose it” bonus can thus serve as an opportunity for employers to demonstrate gender equality in their work culture and enable the new fathers amongst their employees to achieve that at home too.
Miranda Jeyaretnam is an intern and Christopher Gee is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, National University of Singapore.
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