PES Manifesto

PES Women President: New role models for family life

Published Thursday, May 22, 2008 at 09:31
by Editor (874 views and 0 comments)

As a Hungarian it is quite interesting to observe the differences in life expectancy between European countries: In average men from Scandinavian countries live six years longer than men from Hungary. In this respect the Scandinavians offer a role model; it is easier to reconciliate work and private life for both women and men. If Hungarian men worked less and had the opportunity to take a fairer share of the family responsibility they would live longer.

Like Hanna Isbom from Finland I like the Icelandic model of parental leave; with one third of the leave for the mother, one third for the father and one third for sharing. I believe that children belong to both the mother and the father – and that both parents should have the right to take leave.

In Europe we need a change of mentality and make it acceptable for men to take time off to spend with their families. In Hungary, for example, many men prefer to take sick leave instead of parental leave. They would rather tell their boss that they are ill than to make use of their right to parental leave! We need to study how families work in different European countries and find discover new role models for family life.

New Social Europe implies good possibilities for reconciliation of professional and family life – for both women and men.

Post cards from the PES Women President
PES Women brings together women - MP, MEPs and activists - from PES member parties to discuss and promote gender equality. This week Zita Gurmai, President of PES Women, comments on some of the ideas put forward on Yourspace. This is the third of four post cards from the PES Women President.

Tags: welfare, women, workers