Parental Leave: A Father’s Story

By David McLean, former CEO of Westpac NZ, Professional Director, and member of the National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women.

I freely admit that I am a father who did not take an equal share in the child-raising in my own family.

My reasons were partly that taking parental leave was just not done by men back then - in fact, when my girls were born in the 80’s, parental leave was called maternity leave - and partly economic, because I was the higher earner in the family it made sense for me to stay at work.

Looking back now, I would have loved to have spent more time with my children when they were very young. Sadly, I’m not the only male that feels this way. 30 + years later we’re still not sharing our responsibilities.

The legal framework defining us

The law governing parental leave in NZ is the “NZ Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987”. Parental leave provided by employers is based on the rules in that Act – and even if the employer’s scheme is more generous than the legal minimum, it is still effectively required to follow the framework of that Act.

A key concept in the Act is that only the “primary carer” is entitled to parental leave. NZ law, therefore, prescribes the concept of a primary carer, rather than a sharing of caring responsibilities. In comparison to other OECD countries, this concept is archaic. New Zealand is one of the few developed countries that doesn't have ring-fenced paid paternity leave.

When added to the economic and other factors that create an environment where it is the woman who is expected to carry out more of the caring responsibilities, the primary carer concept in law is a powerful reinforcement of an existing problem.

The problems this framework causes

A significant consequence of this framework is that in NZ families, women carry more of the responsibility of childraising than men. This takes them out of the workforce (partially or fully) during what is often a critical period in the development of their careers.

There are many reasons why this still happens in 2022: sociological; historical; gender role stereotyping; economic.

One of the problems this causes is a large gender pay gap, meaning that the pay of the average woman is less than the pay of the average man. And the compounding effects of this gap are many, and serious. One of them is the fact women in NZ retire with far less savings than their male equivalents.

The need for systemic change

Women are entitled to expect the same economic outcomes throughout their working lives as men (at least, given that 62% of university graduates are women.)

For this to be true for all women in NZ however, men would need to take on an equal share of the responsibilities of childraising in the family.

There is a personal responsibility element here. Couples need to take a good look at what helps or hinders that full sharing in their family situation.

Another important contributor to this is parental leave. The rules around it can incentivise behaviour and reinforce, or change, attitudes.
Some of the more advanced countries in this area such as the Nordics have rules incentivising shared instead of primary responsibility, with the aim of increasing the share of child-caring responsibilities undertaken by men.

Who’s leading the change in NZ?

A small but growing number of companies are standing up and holding themselves to account for their gender pay gaps. There are also a small handful of companies in NZ making allowances for men to take more parental leave. Many are now offering 26 weeks full pay with the option to share it across the primary and secondary caregiver, and offering other benefits like child care subsidies and work flexibility.

But it’s very difficult for small businesses to offer the same benefits because the cost of any move away from the rules in the government scheme is prohibitive. Small businesses employ 65% of the working population in NZ. These businesses and their employees need the support of the system to be able to bring about lasting and equitable change.

Whether you’re an employer or an employee there are a few things you can do:

Please encourage your company to add its parental leave information to the Crayon Parental Leave Register by contacting hello@gocrayon.com and your gender pay gap information to Mind The Gap - the more transparent we are with this information the more informed we are and the more leverage we have to make systemic change.
If you think there is a parental leave benefit that will help you share the load at home more evenly, ask your employer. They may be inclined to make allowances for you, and for every employee that follows. It’s small steps that can go a long way to creating widespread change.
Consider your own personal situation and if your partner could spend more time with the kids. If you need help selling it to them, check out Sweden’s latte pappas for inspiration.

Now for the important legal part: This information is general and not regulated financial advice for the purposes of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. Please seek independent legal, financial, tax or other advice in considering whether the content in this article is appropriate for your goals, situation or needs. The information in this article is current as at 21 June 2022.