Gender equality can only truly happen if there is a culture change, which is why Alternattiva Demokratika believes men should be entitled to at least two weeks of parental leave, party chairman Michael Briguglio said yesterday.
Men should be entitled to the same parental leave as women
“Ideally, men should be entitled to the same parental leave as women… and that women should have 20 weeks. This will put them on equal ground. But, we are saying, let’s start off with at least two weeks,” Dr Briguglio told a news conference.
He said the Government had shot down the possibility of extending parental leave for fathers.
In December 2010, the majority of EU Social Affairs Ministers, including Malta’s, opposed a proposal to extend the minimum maternity leave threshold from 14 to 20 weeks.
The proposal, which had won the backing of the European Parliament a few weeks earlier, had also recommended two fully paid weeks of paternal leave. Since then, maternity leave in Malta has been increased and will reach 18 weeks by next year. Men are entitled to two days only.
Dr Briguglio said it was useless to encourage women to work if men do not chip into housework and caring for their child. Gender equality needs a culture change.
“We believe that much larger investment is needed in the introduction of family-friendly measures which would enable both women and men to participate in both private and public life,” he added.
These measures included the provision of universal free childcare, the extension of after-school services, measures such as flexitime, job sharing and teleworking and leave for working parents when their children are sick.
AD civil rights’ spokeswoman Angele Deguara said the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality should be given greater legal powers to act against discrimination and propose changes in legislation as necessary.