Finland's Govt. Equalizes Family Leave, Seven Months For Each Parent

Finland's government announced a new policy that will grant equal paid leave for both parents in a family. The women-led government passed a policy which gives each parent nearly seven months of paid leave, for a total of 14 months of paid leave. According to the policy, the pregnant parent gives one month of pregnancy allowance which can be availed one month before the parental leave starts.

The policy will come into effect in the fall of 2021. The current policy of Finland grants about four months of paid leave to mothers and about two months to fathers. The new policy will remove these gender-based allowances allowed in the current policy. The new policy will also allow one parent to transfer 69 days of their share of leave to the other parent. Finland's new policy truly promotes gender equality.

Some takeaways:

• As per the new policy, a single parent will have access to the allowance of both the parents. 
• Currently, Sweden offers 240 days of leave per parent. This is among the most generous leave policy formulated by any country.
• The parental leave policy in Germany is different. The policy encourages the father to take time off work. The basic parental allowance grants 12 months of paid leave.

Read Also: Meet The Five Women Leading Finland’s New Cabinet

Radical reform of family benefits had begun, with the aim of strengthening the relationship of parents from the start. This enables better equality between parents and diversity among families. -Aino-Kaisa Pekonen

Further, as per the new policy, a single parent will have access to the allowance of both the parents. Health and social affairs minister Aino-Kaisa Pekonen said, "radical reform of family benefits had begun, with the aim of strengthening the relationship of parents from the start."  She further added, "This enables better equality between parents and diversity among families." The increased leave will cost the government about 100 million euros (about $110 million). The previous government of Finland explored the policy, but they decided to not formulate the policy as it was very expensive.

The prime minister of Finland  Sanna Marin also talked to the reporters. She said, "I feel that the American Dream can be achieved best in the Nordic countries." Further, she said, "where every child no matter their background or the background of their families can become anything because we have a very good education system."

Other countries with gender-neutral Policies

Sweden offers 240 days of leave per parent. This is the most generous leave policy formulated by any country. The policy also allows a parent to transfer the leave to another parent. However, 90 of the leaves cannot be transferred.  This allows both the parents to take significant time off.

The parental leave policy in Germany encourages the father to take time off work. The basic parental allowance grants 12 months of paid leave. However, if both the parents take the leave, then parents have the option to extend their leave to 14 months.

Read also: 34-Year-Old Sanna Marin Of Finland Set To Become Youngest PM Ever

Mansi is an Intern at SheThePeople.TV