Half of fathers in corporate management positions skip parental leave
Soldiers, police and factory workers most likely to take paternity leave
One in four new fathers in Finland do not avail themselves of their right to parental leave, and the figure is nearly half for fathers who work in corporate management.
Most likely to use their paternity leave are public sector civil servants such as military officers and police. Fewer than one in ten process workers opt out of their right to time off.
Also eager users of family leave are health care professionals, from nurses to doctors.
Information about the family structures, professions, and pay of fathers taking family leave has been compiled by experts from the social Insurance Institution (KELA), the Labour Institute of Economic Research, and the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy (ETLA).
In addition to managers, fathers who waive their right to parental leave can be found among university teachers, artists, and in agriculture and forestry.
The experts suggest that what these rather disparate professions share is relatively free working hours, making it easier to accommodate the needs of the family with work schedules.
The results differ from those of previous studies, in the large number of professionals in industry.
One in five wage earners and one in three entrepreneurs have not availed themselves of family leave.
Those working for small companies take time off for new family arrivals less frequently than those in large ones. In companies employing fewer than ten people, 27 per cent have not taken paternity or family leave. In companies of 250 people the figure is 14 per cent.
Those with the highest incomes turn down the right to family leave as frequently as those with lowest incomes.
Low income especially leads to situations in which family leave is not utilised to the same degree as in middle income families.
The higher the education level in the family, the more fathers want to take their leave. Fewer than one in five fathers turn down paternity or family leave if either of the parents have an academic degree.
However, the researchers note that with the exception of the basic education level, the differences in the use of family leave by men of differing educational backgrounds are not very great, and a significant majority of fathers will fit into the two educational classes in the middle.
Family leave also correlates with the income differences between men and women, because most of the leaves are held by women.
The influence of children on income development among women appears to be similar to that found in research in other countries, where children appear to have a negative effect on women's income.
According to researchers, it seems that it is difficult to achieve significant narrowing of wage differences between the sexes if fathers do not take greater responsibility for caring for the children.
The material for the study was compiled from data on 102,000 children born between 2001 and 2004, and their parents.
Minister for Culture and Sport Stefan Wallin (Swedish People's Party), who is also responsible for issues of gender equality, feels that parental leave should be shared more equally between the parents.
Speaking at a meeting of Nordic equality ministers in Vantaa on Monday, Wallin proposed that both the father and mother of a newborn child should be granted six months of leave, and that another six months should be given for the mother and father to divide between themselves as they see fit.
Helsingin Sanomat
|
| 16.10.2007 - TODAY |
 Half of fathers in corporate management positions skip parental leave |
|
