In Argentina, one of the shortest paternity leave in Latin America is in force: men have the right to only two days to care for their newborn child. For mothers, the leave is three months. Homoparental and adoptive families are excluded. The Argentine government seeks to correct this disparity with a bill that extends the licensing regime to 126 days in the case of “pregnant people” and 90 days in the case of “non-pregnant people”, regardless of their gender. The initiative sent to Congress aims to create a comprehensive system of care policies and also includes adoption licenses.
“It is time to equalize women and diversities with men so that we all have the same rights. The work of women, that silent and important work that makes us grow, cannot go unrecognized. It is love and it is work”, said the president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, when announcing the project “Caring in equality” this Monday at the Casa Rosada.
Fernández stressed that the “unequal distribution of care work is at the heart of gender inequalities” and it is necessary to promote a more equitable distribution. According to official data, men spend an average of 3.4 hours a day on unpaid housework, compared to the 6.4 hours a day dedicated by women. “The obligation no longer belongs to the mother, but to the mother and the father, and together we must attend to the needs of the children,” said the Argentine president, comparing the social transformations within families between the birth of their first son, 27 years ago, and the second, born three weeks ago.
If the initiative is approved by the two legislative chambers, the paternity leave will be 15 days and will be progressively extended until reaching 90 in a maximum of eight years. From being in the tail of the region, it would go to the forefront. For mothers, it contemplates extending it 36 days more than the current ones. Currently, both permits are below the recommendations of the International Labor Organization.
The cost of the new licenses and the extension of those already in force will be assumed by the social security, not by the employers. “This project extends rights, both in the private sector and in public administration, agriculture and private homes; and creates them for monotributistas, social monotributistas and autonomous”, said the Minister of Women and Diversity, Elizabeth Gómez Alcorta during the official announcement.
People who have to take care of someone in their care due to illness will see their leave extended from two days to a maximum of 20 per year. Those women who suffer gender-based violence may also opt for a 20-day license.
The Government assured that the new project is in line with others that have sought to recognize care tasks, such as the decree that last year recognized retirement contributions to women with their own or adopted children. Likewise, it also promotes the supply of infrastructure linked to these works: one of the articles of the new bill obliges the Ministry of Public Works to allocate 8.5% of its annual budget to work on care spaces.
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