Plans to allow fathers to benefit from up to six months' additional paternity leave if the mother returns to work before the end of the maternity leave period to which she is entitled have been shelved, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph (external website).
Not surprisingly, the reason given for the delay is that the changes will cost too much for employers during the recession. It had been thought that the changes might come into force in October 2009 and apply to fathers of babies due from April 2010. It is also proposed that statutory maternity pay be extended from 39 weeks to 52 weeks.
| Tweet |
|
| Permalink | Email this |
Comments (1)
The proposed legistlation is cumbersome and a burden to business. BUT, shelving it is yet another reinforcement to the implicit myth that "Men work, and Women have babies"
There has to be a better way!
61% of working mothers would work regardless of financial need according to UK wide, cross sector research with over 1500 working mothers. The research conducted by Mayfield Associates in conjunction with the UK's two leading parenting charities; Working Families and the NCT also showed that 95% of all working mothers saw their ideal family as one in which both parents are working.
BUT, Although there is a strong desire to work only 3 out of 10 women found the return to work following maternity leave easy. The remaining 7 out of 10 highlighted significant damage to their psychological contracts, many of whom felt this was irreparable.
According to Stuart Rose (CEO M&S), there is no glass ceiling. Women can have it all - babies and careers. "They've never had it so good"
According to the Equalities review "Clearly there is one factor that above all leads to women's inequality in the labour market - becoming mothers"
Who is right?
The principle of fathers sharing parental leave in a more Scandinavian system is more than enabling what Rose implies as Winging Women to have it all, Societies that enable shared care of an infant in the first 12 months leads to a more open and respectful society and organisational cultures that embrace the benefits of gender diversity.
To come out of this recession we need strong and innovative organisations. Research from Catalyst shows that productivity and profitability excel in organisations with at least 3 female board members. Research from London Business School shows that teams with 50/50 men and women are more innovative than those that are male dominated. Yet, despite the obvious benefits of employing women, a recent publication by PWC illustrated a leaking pipeline of female talent; for most companies a gender balanced intake of junior recruits falls to 30% women at managerial level, 15% at senior executive and 10% or less at board level.
This should be about enabling change to support high performing businesses that will be able to utilise their full talent pool
The Mums Going Back to Work research program (www.MumsGoingBacktoWork.com) found that Organisational culture, Line Managers and Bosses were seen as pivotal in ensuring a smooth return to work following maternity leave.
Having gain insight into mothers' experiences we are now seeking organisations to help us develop the employers' perspective through interviews and benchmarking.
Our aim: to develop evidence based support for women, line managers and organisations to ensure a smooth transition to working motherhood that benefits the mother, her family and her employer.
Do you care about increasing organisational performance?
Do you have a story of great practice to share?
How do you gain high performance from Diversity?
Find out more about the program, how you could help and the benefits visit www.MumsGoingBacktoWork.com
Posted by Morris | June 2, 2009 11:18 PM
Posted on June 2, 2009 23:18