Fathers Investing In Their Children Is A Great Thing, Says Maajid Nawaz
18 March 2018, 15:18 | Updated: 18 March 2018, 15:20
The women and equalities committee will argue the gender pay gap will be closed only if men are more involved in bringing up their children.
The committee, chaired by Maria Miller, a Conservative MP, will recommend fathers be entitles to receive one month off work when their wife or partner has a baby and be paid 90% of their salary.
Maajid Nawaz is on board with the idea, and says that "Employers would be less likely to discriminate against mothers if they knew the father would take half that time off too."
Shared parental leave was introduced in 2015, but few fathers opt to take time off when a baby arrives because they can't afford to stop work.
Maajid says: "One of the key reasons for the gender pay gap is due to maternity leave versus paternity leave.
"If fathers were given paternity leave, it's a good way of reducing that gender pay gap.
"I think paid paternity leave for fathers, and encouraging fathers to actually be fathers, and invest in their children as fathers, I think is a great thing."
