"Real man" of the future

A modern man does not consider it beneath his dignity to change a child's diaper

Mikael Karlsson has a snowmobile, two hunting dogs and five guns. In his free time, he hunts moose and exchanges with other fathers the experience of potty training a child. Talking to us, he holds his two-year-old daughter in his arms...

Mikael Karlsson has a snowmobile, two hunting dogs and five guns. In his free time, he hunts moose and exchanges with other fathers the experience of potty training a child. As he speaks to us, he holds his two-year-old daughter Siri in his arms. It never even occurred to him, Mikael admits, not to take a vacation in connection with the birth of a child: “Everyone does it.”

Taking a vacation in order to devote oneself exclusively to caring for a newborn child for some time is equally accepted both among the inhabitants of the capital and among the inhabitants of distant subpolar provinces. This is what 85% of Swedish fathers do, and the few who don't are met with incomprehension from relatives, friends and colleagues. While the issue of women's right to maternity leave is still relevant in some countries, Sweden is worth looking into for a glimpse into the future.

Legislation passed at the time, according to which, out of a total of 13 months of generously paid parental leave, only the father can use at least two months (it is quite possible that after the upcoming general elections in September this quota will be increased to four months) , launched a process of profound social change in Swedish society.

Employers have already become accustomed to the fact that not only women, but also men can take a leave in connection with the birth of a child, and a man who takes advantage of this right no longer risks ruining his career. The law had a positive effect on the equalization of wages received by men and women, and the resulting change in the perception of the distribution of responsibilities in the family led to a decrease in the number of divorces.

In general, this striking example of successful social engineering leads to the establishment of a new idea in society about what a “real man” is.

“More and more men do not want to limit their lives to work,” says Bengt Westerberg. For a long time he was opposed to the mandatory reservation for fathers of part of the leave in connection with the birth of a child, but in 1995, while holding the post of Deputy Prime Minister of the country, he took such a leave. According to him, today most young mothers rely on the fact that their husbands will also devote themselves completely to the child for some time.

In 1974, in Sweden, for the first time in the world, the concept of maternity leave was replaced in legislation with the concept of parental leave. The first men to use this right were called "velvet dads."

At first, despite all the efforts of the government (which organized, in particular, an advertising campaign, the face of which was a famous weightlifter holding a baby in his mighty arms), Swedish fathers were in no hurry to exercise their right to leave.

Most Swedes use their right to maternity leave. A resident of Stockholm, 31-year-old Fredrik Friberg, buys groceries with his daughter Ylva

In 1991, when Bengt Westerberg took over a portfolio in the government, only 6% of Swedish young fathers took advantage of the right to maternity leave.

A certain vicious circle developed: maternity leave and childcare responsibilities remained exclusively a female prerogative, not only because of tradition, but also because women earned less than their husbands.

In turn, going on maternity leave contributed to perpetuating inequality in their wages. And employers made it clear to their male employees that parental leave was incompatible with career prospects.

After in 1995 part of the total time allotted for parental leave after the birth of a child was legally assigned exclusively to men, the situation immediately began to change. The law did not force fathers to stay with their children, but if they chose not to use this right, the total amount of paid leave that parents were entitled to was reduced by a month. Soon, eight out of ten young fathers began to use the right to leave. In 2002, the "men's quota" was increased to two months. This did not affect the number of men who decide to take part in caring for a newborn, but the duration of their vacation doubled.

Obviously, the state-guaranteed preservation of income played a decisive role. In addition, men had a strong argument in a conversation with an employer who does not like it when his employee turns into a housewife for two months.

Social Democratic Party women's chairwoman Nalin Pekgul said that self-employed workers, people in remote rural areas and immigrants are less likely to use parental leave. She herself lives in the suburbs of Stockholm, where most of the population is made up of immigrants. According to her observation, in their communities the traditional distribution of gender roles remains unshakable.

In general, "father months" have a positive effect on many aspects of social organization. Thus, a study conducted in March this year by the Swedish Institute for the Study of Employment Policy revealed a clear statistical relationship between the use of this right by fathers and the increase in mothers' wages: on average, for every month a father spends at home with a child, there is a 7% increase his wife's salary.

In families where parents have higher education, maternity leave is increasingly divided equally between spouses. Many prefer to use the vacation alternately, in short parts, so that neither of the two spouses takes a dominant role and is not distracted from work for too long. The higher a woman's position, the more masculine she tends to be: both women and men in positions of authority rarely take leave.

Parents have the right to use 390 days of paid leave at their discretion and at any time until the child reaches the age of 8 years. Vacation can be used in separate months, weeks, days and even hours, which often creates difficulties for employers.

Sweden, with a population of 9 million, adopted a strategic policy of women's economic inclusion during the boom of the 1960s, when other countries actively attracted labor migrants. As European populations decline and labor shortages re-emerge, many nations have begun to learn from the Swedish experience, says Peter Moss, a leave specialist at the Pedagogical Institute at the University of London.

Mandatory leave in connection with the birth of a child is only in Portugal, but its duration is only a week. Apparently, Iceland went the furthest along this path, where three months of vacation are assigned to the father, another three to the mother, and parents can use three more months at their discretion.

Today, a similar trend is characteristic not only for small countries. For example, in 2007 a law came into force in Germany that gave fathers two of the 14 months of paid parental leave.

Since Germany has managed to do this, says George Washington University professor Kimberly Morgan, it means that most other countries can do the same.

In Södermalm, a prestigious island district of Stockholm, you can constantly meet men strolling with strollers, sitting at cafe tables, shopping in supermarkets or taking a child to kindergarten.

Web designer Claes Bocklund, 35, took a 10-month leave of absence to babysit his one-and-a-half-year-old son, Harry. He admits that at first he was uncomfortable: cooking, laundry, sleepless nights. But now, six months later, he's doing just fine.

“It turned out to be both harder and easier than we thought,” he says.