EXCERPTS

“Today’s paternal leave legislation gives employers a lot of room to negotiate with men whether they should take leave or not. We need less flexible solutions,” says Anne Lise Ellingsæter, who has led a Nordic inquiry into parental leave. It proposed to reserve 20 weeks’ leave for the father. 

Anne Lise Ellingsæter was the first keynote speaker at the Nordic Work Life Conference 2018, held at the OsloMet university from 13th to 15th June. The inquiry led by her came up with what is so far the most radical proposal when it comes to the length of paternal leave in the Nordic region: 

“The time has come to take the next step towards equal parenting. The inquiry proposes a dual parental leave model. For health reasons, leave should be earmarked the mother for three weeks before and six weeks after birth. Beyond this, the period should be divided into two equal parts. The remaining 40 weeks should be shared equally, so that mother and father get 20 weeks each,” the commission proposed.