It turns out that taking some paternity leave with a newborn baby — even as little as a few weeks — can result in a permanent change in the gender roles of the family and may have a positive impact on childrens’ performance in school. Your vote was not submitted. “But for men it’s consistent. “I always had a good career and got good raises, but this time when I returned my boss told me ‘I can’t judge you on those months because you weren’t even here, so I can’t give you a raise,’” says Goulet. The Email already exists in our database. But there are many disadvantages to this rather utopian situation. Please try again. Your vote was not submitted. 3. Please try again. The common and the uncommon. paternity leave.According to the LAC, paternity leave is defined as a period of leave from employment which enables fathers to bond with the mother and newborn child.In an opinion piece published in Please continue to log in. When Goulet, now 39-years-old, returned to the office after the leave, his boss made it clear he wasn’t pleased. Paternity leave has been recognised as an important meansof reconciling professional and familial lives of workers, and, inprinciple, it is important to try to empower fathers to take a moreactive role in the care and nurture of children.The InternationalLabour Organisation (ILO), according to the LAC, did not prescribespecific guidelines for paternity leave, which is largely left upto member countries to decide.Many do not have laws providing forparental leave, and in countries that do, there are usually legalconditions that must be met beforehand.The matter came up fordiscussion in Parliament this week, but hopefully when in thepublic arena, there will be more considered debate of thisissue.While Attorney General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana raised somevalid points, including whether fathers would use the leave for thespecific purpose.She also brought up the issue of the cost to theeconomy.Others, such as Swapo backbencher, Ponhele ya France,maintained that "paternity leave be granted as often as men 'make'children".Such comments are not particularly helpful to a debatewhich is an important one.The LAC said that a small survey revealedalmost non-existent paternity policies in Namibia, but there aresome companies, including this newspaper, which does provide forsuch.Finally, while the LAC emphasises it is up to Namibians todecide whether the benefits of paternity leave outweigh the costs,and economically speaking, this could be quite high, the decisionat the end of the day probably needs to be made on the basis ofwhat's best for the children. Paid parental leave is one example of a perk companies are starting to consider for this exact reason. An error occured. * shouldpaternity leave be limited to fathers who are sharing a commonhousehold with the mother and child? THE Zimbabwe government is still going ahead with getting N$54 billion to compensate white farmers who were evicted two decades ago. * Should paternity leave be paid or unpaid? Please continue to log in! You can change this password after you logged in. ALL Blacks coach Ian Foster has wielded the axe ahead of Saturday's Tri Nations Test against Argentina in response to New Zealand's shock loss to the Wallabies last weekend. Unplanned absences are not good for companies. The main reason is that fathers cannot do so because of the loss of pay. Please try again! You will receive an email from The Namibian with your new password. Narrowing wage gaps * Should paternity leave be paid or unpaid? Male co-workers asked why he was taking so much leave, and said in a disapproving tone that when their children were born, they only took a couple of days off. The earnings gap between the spouses is also reduced. * should paternity leave be limited tothose men whose name appears on the birth certificate as the fatherof the child? As part of its efforts to promote gender equality in Namibia, theLegal Assistance Centre has made a submission regarding the newLabour Bill to the National Council Standing Committee onConstitutional and Legal Affairs, which among others, proposespublic input on the question of paternity leave.The LAC proposed that the abovementioned committee investigatewhether there is a demand for this kind of leave, and that it getfeedback from employers and employees alike as to the viability ofpaternity leave.According to the LAC, paternity leave is defined as a period ofleave from employment which enables fathers to bond with the motherand newborn child.In an opinion piece published in The Namibian last week, amember of the Gender Research and Advocacy Project at the LACscrutinised the question of whether Namibia was ready for a conceptsuch as paternity leave.Among others, in questioning the need for paternity leave, theLAC posed a number of questions that are pertinent to raise here,as these are the issues that need to be discussed prior to making adecision on something that, if adopted, could have wide-rangingconsequences and even an economic impact.Some of the questions by the LAC include the following: * wouldfathers use paternity leave to help take care of the child? Paternity leave makes dads more likely to … Your registration was succsessful!You will receive an email from The Namibian. An error occured. Please continue to log in! Research shows men taking paternity leave also suffer career penalties — plus they face greater social consequences. The Email already exists in our database. Tweeps get down with the A, B, Cs of life, love and longevity... LOCAL investment firm Areysteq Asset Management has been announced as the new Government Institutions Pension Fund's incubation programme beneficiary. It encourages greater engagement of a father’s role and improves the upbringing of a child, leading to a stronger family foundation. Please try again! Submit your email address to get a new password via email: Your password has been reset! THE inaugural Autumn Nations Cup starts with Ireland facing Wales in Dublin on Friday as rugby union continues to deal with the fall-out from the coronavirus pandemic. Increase in Productivity *should paternity leave be limited to those men whose name appearson the birth certificate as the father of the child? What are the advantages and disadvantages of maternity leave? The benefits of maternity leave last for years. As a … New Zealand wield axe for Argentina Tri Nations Test, Mane scores and creates a goal as Senegal triumph, Rugby shake-up goes on with new Autumn Nations Cup, Broke Zimbabwe seeks adviser to raise billions. “It was certainly positive for my family and my wife appreciated having the help. When employees are constantly distracted, they show poor performance. Even though fathers received just four weeks of leave during the period studied, the authors say it takes place at a crucial time where household work is being renegotiated, and has a lasting impact. THE Zimbabwe government is still going ahead with getting N$54 billion to compensate white farmers who were evicted two decades ago. Submit your email address to get a new password via email: Your password has been reset! When parental leave is offered exclusively to fathers, research by Andreas Kotsadam and Henning Finseraas in Norway shows that over the long term, couples share domestic tasks more equally and have 11 percent fewer conflicts over the division of household labour. Paternityleave has been recognised as an important means of reconcilingprofessional and familial lives of workers, and, in principle, itis important to try to empower fathers to take a more active rolein the care and nurture of children.The International Labour Organisation (ILO), according to theLAC, did not prescribe specific guidelines for paternity leave,which is largely left up to member countries to decide.Many do not have laws providing for parental leave, and incountries that do, there are usually legal conditions that must bemet beforehand.The matter came up for discussion in Parliament this week, buthopefully when in the public arena, there will be more considereddebate of this issue.While Attorney General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana raised some validpoints, including whether fathers would use the leave for thespecific purpose.She also brought up the issue of the cost to the economy.Others, such as Swapo backbencher, Ponhele ya France, maintainedthat "paternity leave be granted as often as men 'make'children".Such comments are not particularly helpful to a debate which isan important one.The LAC said that a small survey revealed almost non-existentpaternity policies in Namibia, but there are some companies,including this newspaper, which does provide for such.Finally, while the LAC emphasises it is up to Namibians todecide whether the benefits of paternity leave outweigh the costs,and economically speaking, this could be quite high, the decisionat the end of the day probably needs to be made on the basis ofwhat's best for the children.The LAC proposed that the abovementioned committee investigatewhether there is a demand for this kind of leave, and that it getfeedback from employers and employees alike as to the viability ofpaternity leave.According to the LAC, paternity leave is defined asa period of leave from employment which enables fathers to bondwith the mother and newborn child.In an opinion piece published inThe Namibian last week, a member of the Gender Research andAdvocacy Project at the LAC scrutinised the question of whetherNamibia was ready for a concept such as paternity leave.Amongothers, in questioning the need for paternity leave, the LAC poseda number of questions that are pertinent to raise here, as theseare the issues that need to be discussed prior to making a decisionon something that, if adopted, could have wide-ranging consequencesand even an economic impact.Some of the questions by the LACinclude the following: * would fathers use paternity leave to helptake care of the child?