WAO is proposing for at least seven days of paternity leave as paternity leave is crucial in promoting shared responsibility among couples, which benefits fathers, mothers, and children.

“Paternity leave will enable fathers to play an active role during childbirth and to adjust to the monumental life changes that come with being a father. Various studies show that children with involved fathers have better social, emotional and cognitive development, and perform better in school.

“Introducing paternity leave also sends the message that caregiving is a shared responsibility. Such changes in social norms would help women to stay in the workforce,” says Sumitra, highlighting a Khazanah Research Institute study which estimated that a whopping 2,563,800 women in Malaysia were not working due to housework or family responsibilities, compared to just 69,800 men.

Keeping women in the workforce would benefit the economy, she stresses.

Malaysia’s female labour force participation was only at 55.6% – one of the lowest in South East Asia – compared to 80.7% for that of men as of 2018.

A 2012 World Bank report estimated that if Malaysia were to eliminate the gender gap in labour force participation, income per capita could increase by 16%, she points out.

“Many countries have introduced paternity leave and it is time for Malaysia to move forward as well,” Sumitra notes, adding that WAO has launched a petition calling for at least seven days of paternity leave, which is available at: https://www.change.org/p/ministry-of-human-resources-malaysia-introduce-7-days-of-paternity-leave-in-malaysia