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It's the government paying. Up to a fixed amount. But most high earners are in a position where the company will pay the difference as a perk. If it were compa
by matsemann 6y ago
It's the government paying. Up to a fixed amount. But most high earners are in a position where the company will pay the difference as a perk.
If it were companies having to pay, that would probably lead to some aversion about hiring people without children in the right age. But that's probably an aversion lots of companies in other countries have about women. "Will they have kids and leave the workforce soon?".
I strongly believe giving dads a lot of paternity leave is good for equality. Of course dads should have the same opportunity as moms, but males taking paternity leave has an indirect good effect on woman in the work force as well. No longer is it assumed that they will be gone for X months in their 20s/30s, compared to men. Some argue the rules should be "X days, split as the parents see fit". But that is what historically has put the pressure on the man to work and the woman to stay at home.
- rags2riches 6y agoIf you want to force an even split or not depends on if you see the system as something that enables people to make choices that are good, or something that makes them do what you think is good (for the parents in question or for the society in general). I know a couple that had two children. He wanted a third child. She wanted a PhD. The current Swedish system enabled them to have a child and let him take virtually all the leave while she finished her PhD. But some social engineers would rather not let them have that choice, because the aim is a perfect 50/50 split for all couples in a column of a report somewhere. (Or even worse, they would be fine with this particular case, but would object if it was she that wanted the third kid and he that wanted a PhD, because a 50/50 split in aggregate also looks pretty good, and this would work towards that in the present situation...)
- Ericson2314 6y agoUgh, more myopic individualism. How about this: after we mandate even split and the culture changes, we give parents back the right to allocate it as they see fit. Hell, if we want to converge faster and get back to parental choice quicker, we might mandate 3:2 men's vs women's paid leave. Annecodes like your female PhD candidate story are no basis for determining policy.
- rags2riches 6y agoSure, call it individualism to view people like my friends as the ends of your policy. What shall we call it when the policy treats them as a means to some other greater end?
- Ericson2314 6y ago> What shall we call it when the policy treats them as a means to some other greater end? Sacrifices for the greater good.
- matsemann 6y agoNo, the aim isn't "to fill a column of a report somewhere". That's just unnecessary snark from you. It's a difficult thing to balance. Ideally one should be able to split as wanted, based on one's life situation. But when one is free to choose, one often can find that the freedom is only imaginary. There will be pressure from society/employers/etc to do it a certain way. Lots of countries where it's expected that the father forego all paternity leave, or his career at the company will be done.
- rags2riches 6y agoYes, that was snarky. Still, it's not expected that Swedish fathers forego their leave and Sweden has not mandated a 50/50 split yet. Maybe it's worth treading lightly as we're clearly heading in the right direction. Then some other couple like my friends won't have to be eggs for the impatient makers of the equality omelette.
- AniseAbyss 6y agoCan confirm, social media is checked to make certain someone isn't pregnant or trying to get pregnant.