Aviation Minister Suggests Airlines Give Paternity Leaves To Pilots

The Aviation Minister of India, Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Wednesday that airlines must consider giving paternity leaves to the pilots so that men can also share the responsibility of raising their children. The minister added that the share of women pilots should be increased from 15 per cent to 50 per cent.

As per the Maternity (Amendment) Bill, passed in 2017, working women can take maternity leave of 26 to 12 weeks. While the same law is followed for giving paid maternity leaves by Indian airlines, no such policy is in place for male employees.

Aviation Minister Suggests Paternity Leaves By Airlines

Scindia in his statement said, "I believe that our airlines are doing a tremendous job in terms of creating a healthy workplace environment for our women, whether it is creches, maternity leave and other structures." The minister gave the said speech at an event organisation by Women in Aviation.

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The minister added, " I think we need to move beyond that." He said that we need to create an environment which is gender neutral and which looks at similar responsibility for both men and women when it comes to family environment. Scindia said that the mental shift has to happen and added that we must must recognise the differences and re-imagine the fundamentals of ethics at the workplace.

Scindia said, "I really believe that equity is more important than equality. It is a very nuanced approach but I think the time has come to recognise it. It is not a fight for equality. It is a fight for equity."

As Jyotraditya Scindia noted, India has 15 per cent women pilots. This makes the number even less than five per cent when compared with the total number of pilots in India. The minister asked if the 15 per cent is good enough and then answered himself, "No."

He noted that the reason behind the number being not good enough is the odds women have overcome, the stereotypes they have surpassed and the pressure of performance they have endured. "You have pierced every glass ceiling, "he said.