The number of man receiving paternity leave allowance grew by 40.2% from 2018 to 2019, indicates a government's report on gender equality for last year.
According to the Labour Social Affairs and Family Ministry, parental leave is a tool of family policy which enables both parents to participate in the care and upbringing of a child after the end of maternity leave. It can contribute to a fairer distribution of unpaid domestic work among parents and eliminate possible inequalities in their participation in the labor market. Last year, the employment of men aged 20 to 64 reached 80%, but the employment of women in the same age classification was 67%.
The Ministry states in the report that in recent years there have been several changes in Slovakia that increase the motivation of fathers to spend several weeks with a newborn child. From 2019, both parents can take parental leave at the same time if they have more than one child under the age of three.
