Radical reforms to maternity leave legislation, which would allow fathers to take more paid time off, will be proposed today by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission.
Concerned that the extension of maternity leave from six to nine and soon to 12 months has "entrenched the assumption that women do the caring and pay the career penalty", the EHRC will set out a series of measures to redress the gender imbalance by encouraging fathers to become more involved in caring for their children.
"New parental rights introduced over the past decade are well intentioned but entrench the current unequal division of labour and caring between the sexes and work against gender equality," the EHRC's Working Better report says.
Research conducted by the commission suggests that families no longer have firm preconceptions about men as breadwinners and women as carers, but notes that legislation is lagging behind this shift.
"Britain now stands out internationally for having a very long period of leave reserved for mothers, most of it at a low rate of pay, and for having a relatively weak parental leave," the report says.
"Together long, low-paid maternity leave and short, low-paid paternity leave convey the message that it is primarily women who are responsible for the care of young children."
Research shows that the gender pay gap (which on average sees men being paid 17 pence in every pound more than women) more than trebles when women reach their 30s as a result of the career compromises which come with motherhood.
Concluding that it was time that "policy-making enabled men to play an equal part in parenting", the EHRC proposes that the first 26 weeks of a baby's life would remain dedicated maternity leave for mothers, but with higher rates of pay, so that they would receive 90% of pay for the entirety of their maternity leave. Fathers would still get two weeks of paternity leave at the birth of their child, but this would also go up to 90% of their pay.
Beyond the first six months of maternity leave, the commission proposes three blocks of "parental leave", which could be taken any time before the child's fifth birthday, each of about four months, one block dedicated to mothers, one to fathers and one either could take.
The first eight weeks of each of these blocks of leave would be paid at 90%.
Under the scheme, parents would not usually be able to take leave simultaneously. "To encourage more fathers to take responsibility for caring for children we are keen that some part of the leave entitlement for fathers is taken alone, without the mother on leave," the report says.
Their research showed that families with an annual income of less than £15,000 were much less likely to take leave than families with a higher income. Similarly, single mothers were far more likely to take a very short maternity leave. The proposed increase in paid leave would help low-income parents to take longer time off after the birth, the EHRC said.
Alarm about the unintended negative consequences of enhanced maternity leave arrangements intensified last year when the entrepreneur Sir Alan Sugar said he would be less likely to hire a woman of child-bearing age. Explaining that the law was "counterproductive", he said: "If someone comes into an interview and you think to yourself 'there is a possibility that this woman might have a child and therefore take time off' it is a bit of a psychological negative thought."
The changes suggested by the EHRC would redress the balance in this area.
The report calls for more attention to be paid to the desires of "frustrated" fathers keen but unable to spend more time caring for their children.
The EHRC has calculated that the scheme would cost £5.3bn, and proposes it be introduced gradually over 10 years.
A Department for Business spokesman said: "These are difficult times for businesses and families and the EHRC's proposals look to have considerable costs attached to them. We will need to take time to more fully assess the implications."
The management of the EHRC was under pressure this weekend after a number of resignations, but senior figures will gather in London today to launch the report. "We are proposing one of the most radical changes in our approach to parental leave in a decade," chief executive, Nicola Brewer, will say.
Changing times: What the father says
Eleven days after his son Noah was born, Daniel Soar cannot imagine tearing himself away to go back to work. The editor considers himself lucky: his employer is giving him four weeks' paternity leave on full pay, compared with the fortnight on £117.18 a week that is the statutory allowance. But the thought of returning to the office for good once his month is up still troubles him.
"I think it will be quite traumatic. We're still settling. Noah's had to go back to hospital for a couple of days and these kind of complications are very ordinary. If you spend your first two weeks in and out of hospital it's a bit depressing."
He welcomes the idea of being able to take parental leave after six months, allowing his wife, Eleanor, a publisher, to go back to work. "It would be great - if we had that choice I imagine it would be very likely that we'd do that. I can imagine wanting to spend time with him and I think from Ellie's point of view it would make sense for her not to have too long out of the office."
She is getting full pay for the first three months, half pay for the second three and then statutory pay. "We're prepared to be very belt-tightening in the second three months, so any improvement in maternity pay could only be a good thing." Seeing male friends who work on a more flexible freelance basis has shown Daniel the benefits of being able to share a baby's first months. "You want your child to have as much time with both parents as possible," he says. "But at this stage it's a selfish thing. I'd just like to spend all the time I can with him."
