From July 1st of this year a new ‘equality bonus’ will be added to Sweden’s parental insurance program. Families who share parental leave equally will be eligible for tax rebates.
But now the Moderates want to go a step further and expand the equality bonus, according to newspaper Svenska Dagbladet.
The party’s high council which is lead by Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, points to two areas still lacking equality between the sexes. Currently, a higher number of women—64 percent—take time off from work to care for sick children, and there are more women who choose to work part time.
While only 51 percent of mothers with children under the age of seven work full time, the corresponding figure for fathers is 92 percent.
“We want to look at an equality bonus would take shape, or other incentives for men to stay home to care for sick children and how to get more men to reduce their number of working hours,” said Moderate party secretary Per Schlingman to Svenska Dagbladet.
A working group within the party plans to examine the matter further.