What do China, India, South Sudan and the United States have in common?
They are
among the 92 countries where there is no national policy that allows dads to
take paid time off work to care for their newborns.
According
to a data analysis released on Thursday by UNICEF, the U.N. children's agency,
almost two-thirds of the world's children under age 1 — nearly 90 million —
live in countries where dads are not entitled by law to take paid paternity
leave. In these countries, this policy is typically decided by employers.
According
to the World Policy Analysis Center at UCLA's Fielding School of Public Health,
185 countries guarantee paid leave for mothers, with at least 14 weeks of leave
in 106 countries.
Here are
some highlights from the findings — and insights on paid paternity leave from
researchers at World Policy Analysis Center and UNICEF.
Asia leads
in paid paternity leave. Japan and
South Korea have some of the most generous policies in the world. One year of
paid leave is available for the father, but very few dads take advantage of it.
The U.S. —
home to 4 million newborns— is one of eight countries — along with Papua New
Guinea, Suriname and five small Pacific Island states — where there is no
national law guaranteeing paid parental leave for either moms or dads.
But a
growing number of states in the U.S. have introduced paid leave policies,
according to UNICEF. "The decision to provide paid paternity leave is not just a question of income," says Heymann. "It's the decision of
valuing the roles that fathers are playing with their infants."
Countries
in every income group offer some kind of paid paternity leave. That includes
countries with high infant populations like Brazil, an upper middle-income
country, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, a low-income country, which offer
less than three weeks of paid paternity leave.
One
low-income country, Tajikistan, and some lower-middle-income countries, like
Uzbekistan and Mongolia, offer more than 14 weeks of paid leave for dads.
"As
you go up the income level, you see more countries providing more
generously," says Heymann. "Among middle-income countries, there are
14 countries that provide 14 weeks or more, and in high-income, 28
countries."
Momentum is
building for family-friendly policies across the developing world. Over
the past decade, a handful of countries in Africa have introduced paid
paternity leave. In 2008, Mauritius introduced one week. In 2010, Rwanda
introduced four days and Gambia introduced two weeks.
India, which has one of the highest infant populations in the world,
is proposing the Paternity Benefit Bill for consideration in the next session
of parliament. This could allow fathers up to three months of paid paternity
leave, according to Dr Pia Britto, chief of early childhood development at
UNICEF.
From NPR (edited)
