Parental leave and gender equality in Kosovo

On April 12, Kosovo Center for Gender Studies organized the panel discussion “Parental leave and gender equality in Kosovo”. Part of the panel were: Dita Dobranje, Advanced Researcher, Riinvest Institute and Gresa RrahmaniFeminist activist. As long as the moderator was Glory of Zymberi, Kosovar Centre for Gender Studies.

During this panel, the link between gender equality and parental leave was discussed. The panelists discussed how parental leave affects the creation of a suitable and equal environment for both parents, thus also influencing gender equality. Because of the relatively long maternity leave, women are very often discriminated against in the labor market. Changes in maternity leave provisions in different countries of the world show that when they enable the mother to stay longer outside the workplace, as guaranteed by law, there is a negative impact on the employment of women in general. A 10% increase in the duration of maternity leave has influenced the increase in the probability that women of childbearing age will be discriminated against in the process of employment, regardless of whether this leave was paid or not.

Moreover, the provision of paid medium-term parental leave to women increases their chances of employment. Thus, in order to increase post-maternity gender equality and eliminate the effects of the “maternity penalty” it is necessary to encourage fathers to take parental leave. Research also shows that men are interested in taking parental leave and would prefer it to last from four days to a month. However, the willingness of fathers to take parental leave is closely related to the provision of payment.

The panel also discussed other topics such as the black market, the employment of women without an employment contract or with a short-term contract, as well as the challenges that NGOs themselves often face in paying parental leave. After the discussions of the panelists, the participant/s who gave their comments took the floor.

This activity was realized within the framework of the project “Parental leave for gender equality” implemented by Democracy for Development, funded by the Olof Palme International Center and supported by the Swedish Government.