Parental Leave

This weeks' show looks below the surface of dads taking leave around the time of their babies birth and in the early years. What transpires through the interviews is the notion that parental leave may be a step in the right direction for more gender equality in the workplace and in society. My interviewees are Johan Bavman and Emma Walsh. Johan works as a photographer and his exhibition 'Swedish Dads' is a series of pictures depicting fathers on parental leave. Emma Walsh, the CEO of Parents At Work has been curating many discussions and presentations furthering the discussion on how we can get more fathers taking parental leave and how companies and organisations can support new fathers by lessening the stigma around the topic. Let's be honest, have we invited men into the "who cares for our children" conversation? If not, and we consider the bonds that are built in the first 3 years of a child's life, then it is clear we need loving reflections from both parents and we need to support that to happen by lessening the stigma around taking time off from work to look after children and not consider it as an indication of a low value for their career. There is no 'one size fits all' solution but it takes a village to raise a child and the workplace is part and parcel of that village so let's get to work and support more parents to be engaged equally at home and at work.

Yohan Bavman photographs

To see the photographs in their full splendour head to Barangaroo - 
The Swedish Dads Photographic Exhibition will be in the foyer of tower 3 till the end of September

Swedish Dads Exhibition Website
Johan Bavman's website
Parents At Work website
Australian Government of Human Services - Parental Leave Pay
OECD Parental Leave Policy Brief
OECD Characteristics of Parental Leave

Enormous thanks to Johan and Emma for their interviews and giving me a much greater insight into the world of dads - I have loved every minute of it and look forward to supporting working parents of teens when I do my presentation in a couple of weeks :-)