An increasing number of Norwegian fathers are choosing to take paternity leave to be with their children during their first year. Parents now have the right to choose how the parental leave period is divided between them.
08/01/2007 :: Norway’s paternity leave system currently gives fathers the right to six weeks’ paid leave, but also allows them to use part of the total parental leave period. Norway was the first country in the world to introduce an arrangement of this type. Its purpose is to give men more time with their children, and to allow women and men to share both work and childcare.
Ingrid Iversen, aged five months, is one of many fortunate Norwegian children spending a lot of time with her father during her first year. Her father, Ivar Anders Iversen, likes the parental leave scheme.
“Paternity leave gives me the opportunity to be as involved in childraising as her mother. Now Ingrid can get to know her father just as well as her mother, and that is great both for her and for us,” Ivar Anders says.
Norwegian parents can choose to take either 44 weeks’ leave at full pay, or 54 weeks’ leave at 80% pay. The Iversen family in Oslo has chosen the latter – Ivar Anders will be at home for three of the twelve months, while his wife Birgitte will be home for the other nine.
“I believe that paternity leave is good for the father-daughter relationship. After all, children become more closely attached to the person who takes daily care of them,” says Birgitte.
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs