Longer maternity leave for new mothers (98 days from the current 60 days) and seven days paid paternity leave for all new dads were among the major amendments to the Employment Act 1955 that was passed by the Dewan Rakyat on Monday. Presently, dads in the private sector are not entitled, by law, to paid paternity leave.
This, say women’s rights activists and labour unions, is a significant reform in the law. Although paternity leave is just seven days, it is still significant and the mandate acknowledges the role that fathers must play in households. They hope that this may signal a change in mindsets about prescribed gender roles at home and eventually ease the burden that women face and create a more balanced workforce.
“We are very pleased with these two amendments in particular. While extending the maternity leave was something that the government has been promising for many years, paternity leave was never really in the policy picture. Although it has been recommended by MTUC and WAO from as far back as 20 years ago – at that time it was for 14 days, actually – it was not really in the policy picture.
“This will of course benefit families but it may also change norms in the long run... men doing more at home so women can focus on their careers. It is part of the bigger picture of changing social norms,” says deputy executive director of Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO), Yu Ren Chung.
Yu acknowledges that achieving real gender equality will require more than changes to...
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