Over the last few months, you’d be hard pressed to read the news without seeing a story about the caregiving crisis or the “she-cession” that the pandemic has created in Canada. Acknowledging these crises is important, but more important is what can be done to address them. There’s no easy answer, but here’s a great place to start: more equitable parental leave.
Unequal parental leave patterns are not new, nor can they be blamed on the pandemic. Mothers take parental leave twice as much as fathers, and when fathers do take leave, it is often for only a few days to a few weeks.
Gender inequalities in caregiving are one of the many contributing factors to gender inequality in the workplace. When the burden of child care falls entirely on women’s shoulders, this often leads to slower career progression, career downgrading, or off-ramping entirely.
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