World’s youngest prime minister Sanna Marin announces plans to give all parents the same parental leave in Finland

Finland’s new government has announced plans to give all parents the same parental leave, in a push to get fathers to spend more time with their children.

The government, led by 34-year-old Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who is the world’s youngest prime minister said the new family leave policy would give 164 “daily allowance days” to each parent, or about seven months,

The country also announced that parents would be allowed to transfer up to 69 of their own days to the other parent if they so desired. And for single parents, the country is giving all 328 days to the parent.

The new policy doesn’t just give both parents more time, it also eliminates gender-specific allotments allowing gender-neutral language that’s “suitable for all families,” according to a news release.

“The model guarantees the child a place at the centre of family benefits and promotes wellbeing and gender equality,” said Aino-Kaisa Pekonen, minister of social affairs and health, in a statement.

The new policy is set to go into effect in fall 2021. 

Finland currently allows about four months for maternity leave, and about two months for fathers.