The collective “The Dad Shift” has led an original action to demand an improvement in British paternity leave: in London, fathers have hung baby carriers and dolls on statues of famous men.
The United Kingdom is one of the least generous countries in Europe in terms of paternity leave. Indeed, fathers can take only two weeks of leave after the birth of their baby, compared to 25 days in France. During this break, the remuneration is low: expect only 184.03 pounds sterling per week, or around 220 euros.
These constraints have consequences. According to a study published in 2023 and reported by The Guardiana third of British fathers do not take paternity leave after the birth of their child. Yet 90% of fathers would like to play a greater role in their children’s lives. On the other hand, half of men who do take paternity leave face major financial difficulties.
Better paternity leave
To improve the situation of fathers in the United Kingdom, the collective “The Dad Shift” is calling for longer and better paid paternity leave.
According to the Huffington Postthe collective wishes “parental leave that people can afford to take, which would support equality between parents. In countries where paternity leave is six weeks or more, the gender pay gap is reduced by 4%.”
Baby carriers on statues
To make themselves heard, the members of the collective have carried out an original action by hanging several baby carriers on statues of famous men in London. Thus, we can see the dancer and actor Gene Kelly with a baby in his arms, as well as the comedian Laurence Olivier, the footballer Thierry Henry and his former teammate Tony Adams, or the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
“A lot of people stopped to take pictures and the response was really warm. We wanted it to be a provocative show. Women are often asked about their lives as wives, mothers and daughters, whereas male figures in public life are often not asked to share this part of themselves. We wanted to draw attention to their role as fathers and also to the need for better support for people who have babies in their lives.”said George Gabriel, one of the co-founders of The Dad Shift, Guardian.
An open letter will then be sent to the British Prime Minister. In this letter, the collective states that a “Adequate parental leave for fathers and co-parents is good for mothers, good for babies, good for fathers and good for society”reports West France.
In July 2024, the Labour government of Keir Starmer, currently in power, announced that it would “would review the parental leave system so that it best supports working families”. To be continued…
