Why Men Should Receive Paternity Leave
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Should Men Receive Paternity Leave?
Whether or not men should receive paternity leave is an ongoing debate. Some believe that it is unnecessary for both parents to receive a leave but others argue that raising a child requires equal effort from both the man and the woman. Men should be permitted paternity leave from work because they play a crucial role in assisting with their spouse’s recovery from child birth. We should give men an equal leave as woman in order to advocate gender equality and allow the mother to receive the physical and moral support she needs. Those who oppose granting paternity leave would claim that the job of caring for a young child naturally falls upon the woman, and that most men can barely handle themselves let alone a baby. According to Carol Sarler, a member of the opposing party, “women are better equipped and better able to nurture children than men are, and no amount of social engineering or political correctness on the part of this military or that government will change that.” Also, because the father did not endure physical trauma, his body does not need time to recover.
By giving leave only to women we are maintaining the ancient belief that women should be the homemakers and men should be the breadwinners, thus promoting sexism. If we are going to create an environment of gender equality in the workplace, a father must be viewed as equal to a mother and given an equal parenting time. According to EOC chief executive Caroline Slocock, "There has been a dramatic shift in attitudes by fathers towards caring for their new born babies. Nine out of 10 men with babies now agree that they are as confident as their partners in caring for their new children." She said that this was a major shift from 20 years ago, when 52% of fathers believed it was their responsibility to be the main breadwinner while women stayed at home to care for the children. Policies need to be updated to keep up with changing
Teacher
Class
Date
Should Men Receive Paternity Leave?
Whether or not men should receive paternity leave is an ongoing debate. Some believe that it is unnecessary for both parents to receive a leave but others argue that raising a child requires equal effort from both the man and the woman. Men should be permitted paternity leave from work because they play a crucial role in assisting with their spouse’s recovery from child birth. We should give men an equal leave as woman in order to advocate gender equality and allow the mother to receive the physical and moral support she needs. Those who oppose granting paternity leave would claim that the job of caring for a young child naturally falls upon the woman, and that most men can barely handle themselves let alone a baby. According to Carol Sarler, a member of the opposing party, “women are better equipped and better able to nurture children than men are, and no amount of social engineering or political correctness on the part of this military or that government will change that.” Also, because the father did not endure physical trauma, his body does not need time to recover.
By giving leave only to women we are maintaining the ancient belief that women should be the homemakers and men should be the breadwinners, thus promoting sexism. If we are going to create an environment of gender equality in the workplace, a father must be viewed as equal to a mother and given an equal parenting time. According to EOC chief executive Caroline Slocock, "There has been a dramatic shift in attitudes by fathers towards caring for their new born babies. Nine out of 10 men with babies now agree that they are as confident as their partners in caring for their new children." She said that this was a major shift from 20 years ago, when 52% of fathers believed it was their responsibility to be the main breadwinner while women stayed at home to care for the children. Policies need to be updated to keep up with changing
Cited: Anonymous. "Should Men Get Paternity Leave from Work?" Web log post. – Debate.org. WebCorp, LLC, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. <http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-men-get-paternity-leave-from-work>. Meisenheimer, Joseph R., II. Employer Provisions for Parental Leave. Digital image. Bls.gov. Department of Labor, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. <http://www.bls.gov/mlr/1989/10/art3full.pdf>. Neighmond, Patti. "Postpartum Depression Affects 1 In 7 Mothers." NPR. NPR, 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. <http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/03/13/174214166/postpartum-depression-affects-1-in-7-women>. "Paternity Leave 'needs to Double '" BBC News. BBC, 16 June 2005. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4096156.stm>. "Postpartum Depression: What Is It, and What Causes It?" WebMD. WebMD, 5 Nov. 2010. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. <http://www.webmd.com/depression/postpartum-depression/postpartum-depression-topic-overview>. Sarler, Carol. "Ten Months Paternity Leave? Notuntil Men Know What It 's like Tofeel a Baby Kick as It Grows inside Them." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers Ltd, 20 Jan. 2011. Web. 27 Mar. 2013. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1348709/Nick-Clegg-Sorry-paid-paternity-leave-men-potty.html>. Wicks, Diana. "Workplace Evaluation on Gender Issues." Small Business Chron. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. <http://smallbusiness.chron.com/workplace-evaluation-gender-issues-15252.html>.