Lieberman and Michaeli are promoting paid maternity leave for fathers
The leave for 14 days will be from the 15th week of the birth - and on the condition that the mother returns to work.
Additional condition: This is part of the state budget for 2023, which is not at all certain that the current government will be able to pass
Between Ashkenazi
11/05/2022
Wednesday, 11 May 2022, 13:16 Updated: 13:39
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The Minister of Finance, Avigdor Lieberman, and the Minister of Transport and Road Safety, Merav Michaeli, announced the promotion of maternity leave for fathers with full pay as part of the upcoming state budget.
As part of the expected outline, fathers will be given maternity leave starting from the 15th week of birth.
The full outline will be summarized by the time the budget is submitted to the government on June 16th.
It was agreed that she would last at least 14 days and provided the woman returned to work.
According to the ministers, this step is intended to reduce the wage gap between men and women in the labor market and to allow fathers the right to active parenting and a close relationship between father and baby, as well as to allow each girl and boy the close relationship with both parents.
The new outline is expected to be approved under the forthcoming state budget and will begin in 2023. The conditions for eligibility for fathers will be the same as for women and will stand at 10 months of work out of the 14 months prior to the day of termination, or 15 out of 22 months.
According to Lieberman and Michaeli: "This step is in addition to a series of measures promoted by the government to integrate women into the labor market and reduce the gaps in early childhood, with an emphasis on adjusting the retirement age of women to an increase in life expectancy."
It should be noted that this is legislation that is supposed to be part of the 2023 budget, which the current government is expected to formulate by mid-June.
The main problem is that according to the situation in the Knesset, it is not at all certain that the budget will pass.
Despite the importance of the move to promote gender equality in the labor market, it is possible that this is not an operational plan but a preparation for an election campaign centered on issues that the current government will promote - assuming it wins a mandate from the public again.
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A baby is born (illustration), it is doubtful whether the government will be able to pass the budget that will make him spend more time with the father (Photo: ShutterStock)
On the recommendation of the OECD
In the State of Israel, there are about 180,000 births a year, of which about 130,000 women are entitled to payment during the period of parenthood and childbirth.
Currently, the period of parenting and childbirth for women in Israel is 15 weeks with full payment and it is given to the mother.
Under the existing law, the father can replace the mother in 7 of the 15 weeks, but at the expense of the mother, and provided that the mother goes out to work during the same period of time.
In practice, only about 1% of all men exercise this option.
According to a study conducted in the Chief Economist Division of the Ministry of Finance, mothers' wages after the birth of their first child fall by about 30%, mainly due to the reduction in the number of jobs;
But even a decade later it is about 28% lower than for fathers.
The study explicitly recommended the implementation of a maternity leave outline for fathers as a possible solution to reduce gender gaps in the long run.
The OECD also recommends a birth period for fathers as a key policy tool for reducing gender pay gaps.
In addition, maternity leave for fathers will allow the mother to return to the labor market more quickly, and it has been found that the father's close care time benefits the baby and promotes their resilience and development.
Maternity leave for fathers also reduces the negative incentive to employ mothers, which still exists.
Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman: "The citizens of Israel know that there is a government here that takes care of them."
Work plan or election campaign? (Photo: Reuven Castro)
"Not every day a vision comes true that I have been fighting for for almost 20 years"
The Minister of Finance, Avigdor Lieberman
: "The State of Israel needs a budget and the Israeli economy needs certainty. One of the cornerstones of the budget for 2023 is reducing gaps in Israeli society, so I am happy to
lead together with Minister Merav Michaeli giving full paid maternity leave.
"Active and have a closer connection with the baby and the baby will reduce the negative incentive to employ mothers. The citizens of Israel know that there is a government here that cares for them, their well-being and significantly upgrades their quality of life."
Minister of Transportation and Road Safety, Merav Michaeli
: "Not every day a vision comes true that I have been fighting for almost 20 years. The struggle for equality takes place on many fronts all the time. It is very rare to have one thing, one change that can affect many fronts at once. Just like that.
During maternity leave, the bond between parent and child is strengthened, gender roles are also shaped and the world of work is shaped during maternity leave.
Now they will be shaped in a much more equitable way.
Maternity leave for fathers is a requirement of the Labor Party in the Collective Agreements.
Indeed, the Minister of Finance and I talked about it before the previous budget and there were many reasons why he did not mention a letter, but now
we have finally succeeded.
I thank again the Minister of Finance Lieberman who is becoming more and more a partner in the struggle for equality every day.
I am proud to be part of a government that takes such significant steps for gender equality and civic equality. I want to remind everyone of the efforts we must and must make to maintain this government. I would like to
thank
my
friend Cohen is also my partner in the Cabinet for Gender Equality
"Of course she is a partner in this struggle together with women's organizations and many feminist organizations that for decades have been fighting for the obvious thing of equality in the family at home and at work."
Transport Minister Merav Michaeli: "Maternity leave for fathers is a demand of the Labor Party."
It seems that she is also already in the election campaign (Photo: Reuven Castro)
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Avigdor Lieberman
Merav Michaeli
Maternity Leave