Aug-Sept 2014 K.indd

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www.cosatu.org.za • AUG/SEPT 2014

contributions that employees make and which accumulate during their careers. The amendment needed to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act would only have to be that the same protection from loss of employment (for taking parental leave) applies to men too. Paternity leave is a useful policy measure to increase men’s involvement in care, but it needs to be implemented in conjunction with a strong focus on holding fathers more accountable for child support. The two go hand in hand. When fathers have the opportunity to connect with their children, it follows that they will be more disposed to provide child support later on, and when separated fathers contribute fi nancially, it follows that they would then be more likely to remain involved and connected with the child. Carrying some of the care burden for a child is also a great incentive to think carefully about when to have the next, and to engage in family planning. Parenting leave for fathers has been implemented in many countries all over the world, and in Africa too (Kenya already offers fathers 14 days, Cameroon 10 days, and Ghana 5 days.) It’s about time that South Africa does the same. Dean Peacock, Sonke Gender Justice Cofounder and Executive Director, and Wessel van den Berg, Sonke Gender Justice Child Rights and Positive Parenting portfolio manager and MenCare Global Coordinator

it creates perverse incentives for them to hire and promote men who they know will not take time out to parent. Data from the UK shows that professional women there “are forced

be expected or trusted to take care of children.

Paternity leave can be good for children, men and women. If more

to slide down the career ladder to fi nd jobs that allow them to spend time with their family”, with nearly a third of female corporate managers being forced to take a more junior position after having a child. The authors of the report correctly argue that this constitutes a “hidden brain drain” to society. Paternity leave can back fi re though: If men expect women to take care of them when they’re home, then men on paternity leave in the period immediately following childbirth could simply increase work for women who might fi nd themselves taking care of both a baby and an adult man. A frequent objection to paternity leave is that it would cost employers too much. The cost of maternity leave is however currently drawn from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF)

Photos by Wessel van den Berg

men share the child support costs, then children have a much better chance of healthy development, with more money in the household available for childcare than a single mother or sibling can provide. Similarly when men get more involved in direct caregiving, children bene fi t in several ways: children have better self esteem, boys show less tendency to play out hyper masculine or aggressive behaviour, and girls do better educationally. Research from other countries shows that men who were involved early on in the lives of their children formed powerful bonds with them and remained close throughout their childhood. Paternity leave is also good for women’s careers. When employers know that only women take parenting leave

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