RebelDad

Is the European System Screwed Up?

Posted on 27. Feb, 2006 by Brian Reid in General

I spend a lot of time here pining for European-style policy changes in this country — stuff like paid parental leave and better daycare and the link. So I took special notice when Newsweek’s international edition ran a cover story on how European moms are getting the shaft at work compared with their American peers. (Thanks to Elizabeth at Half Changed World for the link and the usual sharp commentary.)

At first, I was bothered by what seems like a pretty clear fact: the bountiful programs for mothers leave them terribly behind in the work world, a deficit that is further expanded by some less-than-forward-thinking Old World norms. But this probably shouldn’t surprise me. The problem with gender inequity in the workforce on both sides of the pond probably has less to do with ensuring equal access to work, but rather equal access to the domestic life. Until we get dads pushing to increase family time, this is likely to be a persistent problem (and Newsweek acknowledges as much, noting that dads in Denmark take only a fraction of the leave they’re allotted.)

This gets back to my two-track theory on the pathway to gender equity: it is not enough to have pro-family policies and laws. We need fathers to take advantage of those laws and beat back the stereotype that they’re not key caregivers. I think we’re making slow progress here, and Newsweek suggests that opinions are changing over there. I hope we’re both
right.