The rights of a man

Kanisa George

WELCOMING a new life into the world can be challenging, scary and, for many, a rewarding experience.

It is a journey that often requires support beyond a familial level, yet it is on this level that the most critical support is needed.

Late-night feeding, diaper changes and the much talked about "crying for no reason" calls for using far more hands than one might think is required. When we consider all that is necessary to raise a child, it's no surprise that the oh-so-fitting "it takes a village to raise a child" adage is as famous as it is.

Yet during the most important period of an infant's life, where bonding and nurturing occur, work commitments prevent one of the key players in a child's development from being present. While mothers are granted the time to take care of themselves and their newborn babies, fathers, unfortunately, aren't usually allowed the same luxury.

World War I saw droves of women assuming positions in the workforce, resulting in calls for policies to be restructured to reflect their place in the workplace and their maternal roles.

In 1919, American and European feminists led the global fight for paid maternity leave as a baseline standard of social justice, which paved the way for women today to access paid maternity leave, job security after pregnancy and, in some countries, free medical care during and after pregnancy.

Naturally, the rigours of labour and delivery, coupled with the obvious elements of child-rearing, necessitate that women require a period for healing and rest, not to mention bonding with their newborn baby before heading back to work.

For men, however, such a requirement was never part of the plan and for decades men have been entirely left out of the bonding/transition period after welcoming a baby.

It was only in the late 1960s that the issue of paternity leave was raised in the US when a father was refused an application for no-paid leave for childcare purposes. The application was denied because the childcare leave policies of the Board of Education only applied to female teachers.

A lawsuit brought by his wife against the board argued that granting childcare leave only to women was an invasion of privacy. It forced mothers to be housekeepers and child minders and prevented husbands and wives from dividing family responsibilities as they saw fit.

The Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found that the "mothers-only rule" discriminated against male teachers as a class. As a result, the board reworded its bylaws to ensure equal rights for fathers.

This decision sparked widespread debate on parental involvement in the initial stages of a child's life and the need for fathers to play a more supportive role during the transition period.

It also raised important questions on addressing situations where fathers were single parents by death or otherwise. Yet with all the progress made in workplace policies and education, there are still gaps concerning paternity leave.

A case study conducted by USAID found that while family leave was increasingly recognised as a beneficial policy for parents and their newborns, the formulation and implementation of these policies varied considerably across the world, including across the Caribbean islands.

In TT, while maternity leave is covered by the Maternity Protection Act Chapter 45:57, there is no similar paternity leave legislation.

In fact, leave of this nature is sometimes governed almost arbitrarily. In contrast, regulations in other cases may grant fathers leave for about four days around the time their spouse is about to deliver, or fathers may be forced to use vacation leave.

Results of the case study showed that in Antigua, paternity leave of seven to ten days was granted based on the employer. In Dominica, some participants could access only four days of paternity leave.

Juxtapose this against the minimum 14 weeks' maternity leave guaranteed to most women in modern societies and one could argue that a real problem exists. Call me crazy, but it's entirely possible for some to argue that lawmakers and, by extension, society undervalues men's role in nurturing and bonding with their newborns. Is it that we ignore a man's need to connect with his newborn, or do we believe that this role is firmly planted in the bosom of a woman?

Research conducted by Windmeyer and Lauren (2015) found that paternity leave allows fathers to bond with their newborns and foster gender equality in the home by allowing men to support their partners with childcare.

Evidence shows that when men bond with a baby from the beginning, they are more likely to be present and involved throughout the child's life, more consistently and evenly sharing child-rearing responsibilities with the other parent.

When paternity leave is denied or is limited in nature, both father and baby may be denied an opportunity to form a connection during the first few weeks of the baby's life.

Beyond the obvious education and consensus issues around paternity leave, fathers also face immense stigma.

Research fellow at the University of Exeter, Thekla Morgenroth, believes that men who take parental leave can face backlash and be seen as weak and lacking work commitment. Stigma and internalised gender stereotypes faced by both men and women can affect decisions regarding parental leave in a multitude of ways.

A BBC article showed that while the number of countries where paternity leave has been enacted has all but doubled, the proportion of men who take more than a few days off work when their child is born is tiny.

Leading the charge, Jamaica has become one of the first Caribbean counties to codify paternity leave. From January, men working in the public sector could access 20 working days with pay "for the purpose of spending time with, nurturing and caring for a newborn child." This resulted from numerous consultations and the government's commitment to supporting family life.

While progress has been made on workplace policies and the issue of paternity leave, lack of education is a silent demon. Not only are men unaware that they can access paternity leave, but they also need to understand why they need it in the first place.

Open dialogue and understanding on this topic are paramount. And once the ball starts rolling, policymakers and everyone else in between will follow suit.