In a progressive move, Finland’s female-dominated government announced a plan on Wednesday to give same amount of fully paid parental leaves to both the fathers and mothers. This comes on the back of an effort to encourage fathers to take out time from work to spend with their children.

‘Paternity leave with full pay in the Nordic country would be extended to nearly seven months and on a par with what mothers get,’ said Finland’s social affairs minister, Anna-Kaisa Pekonen.

‘The reform will be a major change in attitudes, as it will improve equality between parents and make the lives of diverse families easier,’ she added.

Both the parents will not be able to take their leaves at the same time which will help the family maintain its income levels for about 14 months, up from the existing 11.5 months.

Adding to their convenience, they can also transfer 69 days from their own quota to the other parent.

A separate pregnancy allowance would be provided to mothers which will allow a month of paid pregnancy leave before the expected date of delivery. In addition to that, a single parent could also use the paid leave allowance quota for both parents.

This progressive reform is a measure of the new government led by Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who is the youngest female prime minister in the world.

The five-party coalition government has prioritized gender equality. 12 of the 19 members of the Cabinet are females and all the coalition parties are led by women.

The changes are expected to come into force next year and the cost of the changes is estimated at 100 million euros ($110 million).

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