I Took Parental Leave and Paid the Price

Image from Storyblocks.com under license

We all know that there is an earning differential between what women earn and what men earn. For the most part, the analysis points to women’s role as they are taking time off in child-rearing as being a significant component of this differential. But what happens if a man takes parental leave?

I live in Canada, and while we do not have the best Parental leave on the planet, its pretty good. Parental leave benefits are provided through our unemployment insurance plan and cover up to 18 months of income at rates based on your pre-leave income. The program actually only offers the equivalent of 12 months of payments, but if you wish you can take that amount of money spread out over 18 months. The other feature of the program is that both parents can share the payments and time off. If I take a week of time off, my wife loses a week of her benefit, sorry but no double-dipping to get three years off. I should also note that the program is a federally funded benefit, but all provinces have put legislation in place to ensure that everybody gets protected leave.

Its A Boy

In 2010 our son was born, and I planned on taking some time off in the form of parental leave. Now, let’s remember that this is a federally regulated program. Each province has employment legislation written that if parental leave is requested, an employer…