No Big Deal for Finns as Defense Chief Takes Paternity Leave

HELSINKI, Dec 19 (AP): Amid the biggest regional security crisis in decades, as Finland waits to join NATO, the defence minister has chosen to claim nearly two months of parental leave from his job.
And Finns aren’t batting an eyelid. Ditto their Nordic neighbours, who are used to family-oriented social policies and work-life balance.

Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen, a 48-year-old father of two, makes a stirring argument for taking parental leaving starting January 6 to dedicate mainly to his 6-month-old son.
“Children remain small only for a moment, and I want to remember it in ways other than just photos,” Kaikkonen tweeted, assuring that Finland’s security “will be in good hands”.
He later told Finnish news agency STT that “although ministerial duties are very important to me, you’ve got to be able to put family first at some point”.

The five Nordic countries — Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden — have made gender equality a top priority in their policies, and that includes encouraging dads to spend more time with their children.

In Sweden, both parents together receive 480 days of parental leave per child, with each parent able to use half — 240 — of those days, which are also transferable. In the case of multiple births, an extra 180 days are granted for each additional child.

In September, Finland launched a gender-neutral parental leave system allowing both parents to take 160 days of paid leave each and to transfer a certain amount of days between each other.
Top male politicians in the Nordic states have made use of their paternal leave rights to a certain extent but it’s still not common practice.

In Denmark, Finance Minister Nicolai Wammen began a two-month paternity leave in late 2020, saying that his son “has mostly seen his father on TV”.
Others in Denmark to do so include the former ministers of immigration, Mattias Tesfaye, and culture, Joy Mogensen.
In Finland, former Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen, a trailblazer in combining politics and fatherhood, took paternal leave in the distant 1998, albeit for a much shorter period. Lipponen, now 81, received plenty of positive coverage in international media for his family arrangements.

Beyond the Ukraine war and rumblings from neighbouring Russia, the Finnish defence minister’s move also comes at a politically sensitive time: Finland faces a general election in early April, and its NATO accession is in limbo mainly due to resistance from alliance member Turkey — which claims Finland and neighbouring NATO candidate Sweden must first address its concerns over alleged activities of Kurdish militants in the two countries.
The parliaments of Turkey and Hungary have yet to ratify Finland and Sweden’s applications. The 28 other NATO states have already done so.
No big deal for Finns as defense chief takes paternity leave

HELSINKI, Dec 19 (AP): Amid the biggest regional security crisis in decades, as Finland waits to join NATO, the defence minister has chosen to claim nearly two months of parental leave from his job.
And Finns aren’t batting an eyelid. Ditto their Nordic neighbours, who are used to family-oriented social policies and work-life balance.

Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen, a 48-year-old father of two, makes a stirring argument for taking parental leaving starting January 6 to dedicate mainly to his 6-month-old son.
“Children remain small only for a moment, and I want to remember it in ways other than just photos,” Kaikkonen tweeted, assuring that Finland’s security “will be in good hands”.
He later told Finnish news agency STT that “although ministerial duties are very important to me, you’ve got to be able to put family first at some point”.

The five Nordic countries — Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden — have made gender equality a top priority in their policies, and that includes encouraging dads to spend more time with their children.
In Sweden, both parents together receive 480 days of parental leave per child, with each parent able to use half — 240 — of those days, which are also transferable. In the case of multiple births, an extra 180 days are granted for each additional child.

In September, Finland launched a gender-neutral parental leave system allowing both parents to take 160 days of paid leave each and to transfer a certain amount of days between each other.
Top male politicians in the Nordic states have made use of their paternal leave rights to a certain extent but it’s still not common practice.
In Denmark, Finance Minister Nicolai Wammen began a two-month paternity leave in late 2020, saying that his son “has mostly seen his father on TV”.

Others in Denmark to do so include the former ministers of immigration, Mattias Tesfaye, and culture, Joy Mogensen.
In Finland, former Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen, a trailblazer in combining politics and fatherhood, took paternal leave in the distant 1998, albeit for a much shorter period. Lipponen, now 81, received plenty of positive coverage in international media for his family arrangements.
Beyond the Ukraine war and rumblings from neighbouring Russia, the Finnish defence minister’s move also comes at a politically sensitive time: Finland faces a general election in early April, and its NATO accession is in limbo mainly due to resistance from alliance member Turkey — which claims Finland and neighbouring NATO candidate Sweden must first address its concerns over alleged activities of Kurdish militants in the two countries.
The parliaments of Turkey and Hungary have yet to ratify Finland and Sweden’s applications. The 28 other NATO states have already done so.