Public Equal maternity and paternity leave, yes, but longer

Updated:

Emma Pons Valls@emmpons

Maternity and paternity leaves are equal and non-transferable from January 1. This, which wants to be an advance towards gender equality and care, has sparked debate and controversy in groups of mothers and feminists. The reason: they are both 16 weeks. That of women has had this duration for 32 years, while that of men -which before 2007, did not have- has been expanding since 2019 this progressive equalization was legislated. In five years it has expanded by 700%. Despite sharing the theoretical objective, the fact that the permits are so short creates discomfort. "For me, the problem is addressing this debate without taking into account the duration of the permits, and in particular that of the mother," says Esther Vivas, journalist and author of the book Mama Disobedient (Ara Llibres).

With different arguments and proposals, the interviewees confirm that 16 weeks are insufficient to take care of a newborn and to guarantee the six months of exclusive breastfeeding recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). "One-year non-transferable permits? Perfect. Unfortunately, this is not the debate," says Vivas.

The Platform for Equal and Non-transferable Birth and Adoption Permits (PPiiNA), created in 2005, is the main promoter of the legislative reform, which it considers key to "generating a different care model". Its spokesperson, Virginia Carrera, explains how "centuries of patriarchy have made goodwill and volunteerism no longer useful for distributing care." That is why the platform considers it essential that the permits be equal and non-transferable by law: "The rules generate behaviors".

Laura agrees. She is @modernacongafas on Instagram, a profile where she posts content about motherhood, care and the climate emergency, among others. Her opinion is that this measure is "the first stone". "If it had not been done, perhaps the debate would continue to be invisible," she points out. For her, the issue is that "the two casualties are too short" . Still, she points out that the fact that maternity leave has been frozen for so many years "makes it more outrageous, and angrier." For her, the ideal would be a minimum of 32 weeks for each member of the couple, and twice as long in the case of single-mother families.

The PETRA Maternitats Feministes Association, whose name comes from the acronym "transferable permits", was created in 2018 as an express response to this law. Julia Cañero, its spokesperson, explains that the main point of opposition is that "it has not taken into account the demands of the mothers", who have been "for a long time asking for a minimum of six months". They want the permits to be the current ones but transferable, because each family can distribute them or, optimally, 52 weeks, of which only six are non-transferable.

employment inequality

"Do you want to be a mother?" It is a frequent question asked by women of childbearing age when they do a job interview. The equalization of permits seeks to reduce this discrimination because, in theory, both men and women will be on leave for the same amount of time when they have a child . Vivas points out, however, that part of this discourse is "wrong", because this inequality goes beyond motherhood. And in the case of being a mother, it goes beyond the sick leave period. "Obviously it can be a corrective measure, but it's actually a very weak measure," she says. The focus of the question is that "discrimination has to do with the fact that care in our society falls basically on women." Cañero shares this and affirms that "the labor market has very patriarchal dynamics that will not be solved with this; they will continue to discriminate against us."

Libertad González, an economist and researcher at the Pompeu Fabra University on health economics, explains that while in the short and medium term the measure "does not have great effects" on the labor market, it is to be expected that in the long run there will be term. "Children who grow up now with more involved parents will already have internalized a more egalitarian thought." The fact that they are non-transferable permits, that is, that they cannot be exchanged between both parents, is essential for this change, because otherwise they would fall mostly to women. González recalls how the leave of absence for childcare, which can be taken by both the father and the mother, is requested in 93% of the cases by women.

But to reduce labor inequality it is key to advance in another aspect: the co-responsibility of men in care. Currently, women continue to spend twice as much time on domestic tasks as men. Can a measure like this contribute to balance it? Carrera points out that it is "a starting point to generate the habit of caring for men ." At the time, legislation on tobacco or the mandatory use of seat belts contributed to changing the perception of these issues, she recalls. Laura (Modern with Glasses) also points out that this equal care will come when today's children, who will have grown up with equal permits, have children. In other words, it is a long-term path.

Cañero, on the other hand, does not believe that this measure serves to advance co-responsibility: "You cannot force care." And she adds that if a father was not co-responsible, she will follow him without being despite permission. "If parents really want to care, why don't they care for free?" she remarks. For PETRA, the permits would have to be "broad" and transferable. But according to empirical evidence, as González points out, what makes men spend more time on care is non-transferable and 100% paid leave.

After a feminism of the 70s and 80s that rejected motherhood as a form of liberation, in recent years care has been revalued and the phrase "putting life at the center" has emerged as one of the mottos of the movement . The journalist Esther Vivas points out that the "biological nature" of motherhood -that is, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding- "bothers" certain feminist sectors because "biology has been used by the patriarchy to impose motherhood on us as a destiny ". Even so, Vivas values ​​that the fact that "there are some needs that have to be covered by the mother does not imply that the woman has to return home", in reference to the defense of breastfeeding, for example.

Men, towards co-responsibility?

Despite the fact that the feminist boom has not yet achieved real co-responsibility, spending more time with the newborn can help men take better care of themselves. Gerard de Josep is a journalist and a secondary school teacher, and has two young children. He redirected his career towards education to improve conciliation, as many women and still few men do. Like his partner, they took leave to care for the children, but this is still very rare among men. Only 7% of the leaves of absence are taken by the father, according to the Generalitat. Although De Josep would have appreciated having a longer leave, he points out that the equalization of maternity and paternity leave is "beneficial but unfair". In addition, he adds she, he ends up penalizing women, because they will continue to take leaves of absence or reduce the working day to compensate for the short time of the permit. "Legislation from this perspective is to do it with your back to reality," he affirms. The journalist, promoter of the Papapà parenting group for parents, is cautious about the effects that this new law may have on co-responsibility and points out that much more is needed awareness among men. Libertad González, economist and researcher at Pompeu Fabra University, studied the effects of the first extensions of paternity leave and concluded that when the father spends more time with the newborn, this "has a persistent effect" on his greater dedication to the home , despite not being equated with that of women. De Josep agrees on what is important in the time spent at the beginning: "The more you are, the more you know your baby, the more you know what care is, you develop empathy, which is absolutely essential to care best". Virgina Carrera, spokesperson for the Permisos Iguals i Intransferibles de Naixement i Adopció (PPiiNA), states that "the more involved [men] are in care and upbringing, the more decisions they make later about the life of the creatures".