April 27, 2007

A leave of Importance

An interesting, if outdated link comparing maternity leave around the world.

Norway and Sweden top the charts, if I read it right. In Sweden, parental leave can be used in a block, or taken in batches before the child is eight. What makes it possible is the fact that social security pays it, not the employer. However I believe the taxation is pretty high as well in Sweden.

Bulgaria, Brazil, Venezuela & Cuba are not bad & that too at 100% pay.
Denmark, France, Bulgaria are also a good places to get pregnant if maternity leave and pay is the key criteria.
Australia has a catch with 1 year but no pay
There was talk of India getting 6 months maternity leave. I wonder what happened to it?

If one is purely a home maker, does any country/government offer any incentive for job well done? Possibly countries with lower population or with an aging public and not enough babies?

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I dont think for home makers specifically, but countries like Singapore and France are offering incentives for having more kids, I believe.

By Deepa and Supriya said...

I have heard about S'pore too. With the baby boomers all set to retire by 2011..America will really age, let's see if they will change policies on child-birth then :)
Interesting read!

Anonymous said...

is work or your baby a priority for you? please resign and take care of babies the way our grand mothers did. moms are meant to be like that. you dont want to leave babies in the hands of nannies who abuse them.

Artnavy said...

anon- come on- which age are u living in???

silly question as well. baby is always the priority for any parent

our grandmas also had armies of nannies/ servants/ relatives/ daayis / older siblings to take care of babies- that is why they could have so many kids....

anyway i do not have any nanny for anush

and not all nannies abuse the babies- some surprise adult family supervision is enough to take care of that

we choose to do what is best for us
so pl go ahead when ur turn comes
and if u r a man hope ur wife obliges you

and if u visit this blog again pl see my post on anonymous comments

Rohini said...

Anon, get a life.

Artnavy, my company announced last year that we will now have 6 months maternity leave. I hopw more companies follow suit...

Anonymous said...

here in NZ you get one year maternity leave of which 3 months are paid ( i think half and half by employer and govt ) and dads get 3 months paternity leave too but thats without pay. Also, recently, to enocourage more kids they have started paying a couple of thousand dollars once the baby arrives for supporting the expenses - that comes from govt too !!

But I dont think any country is yet paying for mothers to stay at home to look after their children !

Usha said...

I hear there are countries that pay child allowance for every additional baby you have - may be the scandinavian ones.

Rebelzz said...

anonymous, whoever u r, WTF is worng with you! Pls go get a life and stop posting such dumb comments!

Hip Grandma said...

I don't think mothers get paid for staying at home ane tending to their kids anywhere in the world.But your post has set me thinking.Why not????After all each child is a national treasure and those who sacrifice a good job and a lot of social security by giving it up for their children need to be given an incentive for it.
BTW check my blog if u have the time.

Anonymous said...

i was posting what i thought was wrong. i am an engineer by profession and and having a child, i resigned and took acre of my joy. i enjoy that and fortunately my husband earns a lot so i do not have to bother to work and earn more. spending 10 years with 2 kids is priceless. working to so called job satisfaction is not. i will work after sending both kids to school fulltime. thanks

Anonymous said...

i was posting what i thought was right :)

Fuzzylogic said...

Here in Canada we do get maternity leave for a year and also there is a employment insurance system available during that time. I know it's harder in US. Good to hear companies in India now are planning to offer 6 months maternity leave. Incentives for work well done for moms,now that's one innovative idea:)I would vote for that!

Usha said...

Hipgran says you are a taurus too - have a great birthday and a terrific year ahead.

Artnavy said...

anon- each to her own- but u still need to come out in the open and be bold if you wish to provoke any change

A lot of our husbands earn well enough for both of us and we may still wish to work - pl read rohini's post on working moms which says it all

maybe then u can appreciate that there could be different strokes for different folks

void and rohini- thanks for standing up

apu/orchid/ nz/ fuzzy- i thought it was an interesting read as well

usha/ hiphgmom- thanks for the wishes- and a very happy bday to you usha- u know the blog celebrated its 8th month bday as well a coupel of days ago!!

Anonymous said...

Anon,

Ever wondered why it is the mother's who get the brunt of SAHM vs working whereas fathers get away free? Your lopsided view is also very sexist.