In an interview with ABC Radio’s Jonathan Gould, Emma Walsh, CEO of Parents At Work, shared her thoughts on the current Paid Parental Leave Scheme in Australia, and what government and employers can be doing better.

Emma discusses the recent National Working Families Report results, which found that men are still facing barriers when it comes taking parental leave, leaving women to take the majority, or in some cases, the only leave available.

“We know it’s roughly somewhere around five percent of fathers taking paid parental leave,” says Emma.

“The two primary reasons are access and financial. How easy is it for them to take? Are they eligible? We know that whilst employers might be progressive and have a paid parental leave scheme … for some employers, that’s not readily made available to male employees.”

Emma calls for a employers to take more action when it comes to not only implementing a gender-equal parental leave policy that allows both mothers and fathers adequate leave, but to also work on breaking down those stigmas that exist around fathers taking parental leave.

Listen to the full segment below to hear more about the current parental leave system, and how this can be better – for parents and employers alike.

Download the full transcript of the radio segment here.

Listen to the the Parents At Work podcast series here.

Understanding Australia's Paid Parental Leave System from Parents At Work on Vimeo.

Posted in Employer, In The Media, Parental Leave, Parental Leave Equality and tagged , ,