Actually, while I wouldn't be opposed to that, I'm not sure it's the best idea. So if a woman is entitled to 12 months, she can take the first 6 and then trans

Actually, while I wouldn't be opposed to that, I'm not sure it's the best idea. So if a woman is entitled to 12 months, she can take the first 6 and then transfer the rest to her spouse. I think some countries work that way (possibly even my home country of Canada, but I haven't lived there for a long time, so I'm not sure... I know some of my friends have done something similar). However, I worry that there will be pressure for women to take the entire leave and not transfer it. I think it would be more beneficial to offer a reasonable leave for women to recover from childbirth and to spend that very important initial time with their child, and then after that is finished the spouse can take a leave. Since it is something added, then I think it would encourage more people to take it. I may be wrong about that, though. The main thing is that I think since women are forced to take leave in order to have families it puts them at a disadvantage. Because it is beneficial for the child to extend that leave as long as possible, they end up sacrificing their careers for their children. I think that's perfectly acceptable, but I think it would be better to make it a reasonable and realistic option for the spouse to make that sacrifice instead.