On Tuesday, German government ministers agreed to revamp support for new
parents, including a clause that rewards fathers who agree to stay home. Under
the agreement, either parent will be able to take a leave from their job for up
to one year and receive 67 percent of their wages up to $2,250 a month.
The logic escapes me. Does that mean that an inherently personal decision of having a child can be influenced by factors like a year's leave and wages? Funny, because I thought factors listed here are also important players in determining a country's birth rate.
Women's access to education, health care, family planning, and employment
all affect family size.
Germany's is a very conservative society. They have, for the very first time a lady chancellor (equivalent of a PM). She too is a hard-core conservative which is why in the first place she is there.
ReplyDeleteThis doesn't take away from the fact that Germans are also innovative where product development and ideas generation is concerned. I think they have the largest number of patents in the world.
The womenfolk in Germany are more educated than before. This is one of the reasons for them to go out of their houses and work, thus choosing work over family(read children).
With my conversations on this with a German lady, she felt that the government needed to intervene. It was surprising as you mentioned about such a personal decision being felt as the obligation of the govt.