It’s already looked up to as having one of the best educational systems in the world, and the country with the happiest citizens. Now, Finland is proving it deserves the title “most family-friendly country” (or at least one of those high up in the list) with a new law that grants new moms and dads an equal number of maternity and paternity leaves.
Scheduled to take effect in 2021, Finland’s new policy on parental leave grants 164 “daily allowance days” each to both the mother and the father (not counting weekends), or close to 7 months per parent, reports CNN.
Either one of them could also transfer up to 69 of their leaves to the other parent if they wish, or save it for later use.
As for single parents, they may use up the combined leaves of the mother and the father — all 328 days of them.
On top of this, pregnant women enjoy an additional month of leaves — yes, even before they give birth.
Currently, Finland gives new mothers about four months of maternity leave, and two months for new fathers.
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The extended parental leaves ensure that the child is at the center of it all. Aino-Kaisa Pakonen, Finland’s minister of social affairs and health, said, “The model guarantees the child a place at the centre of family benefits and promotes wellbeing and gender equality,” adding it is “an investment in the future of families and the wellbeing of families.”
This development comes just a few months after Finland elected its new prime minister, Sanna Marin, who at 34 years old became the world’s youngest sitting prime minster at the time.
Even then, Finland still isn’t considered one of the countries with the longest parental leaves. That distinction belongs to Estonia, which offers 85 weeks of maternity leave, and Sweden, which gives a combined 480 days of leave to the mother and father.
In the Philippines, the Expanded Maternity Leave bill that was signed into law in 2019 now gives new moms 105 days of paid maternity leave, 7 of which may be transferred to the father.
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