Committees

Equality at work: paternity and shared parental leave

Inquiry

Unequal division of childcaring responsibilities is a key driver of wider gender inequality and the gender pay gap. The Women and Equalities Committee is examining options for reform of the statutory shared parental leave scheme and statutory paternity rights with the aim of identifying the most effective ways of incentivising more equal sharing of childcare and wider domestic responsibilities between mothers and their partners.

Our survey on shared parental leave is now closed.

This inquiry is no longer accepting evidence

The deadline for submissions was 11:59pm on 7 February 2025.

Upcoming events

View all events

No upcoming events scheduled

Past events

Tuesday 1 April 2025
2:00pm Private
2:10pm Public
Equality at work: paternity and shared parental leave - Oral evidence 1 April 2025
2:10pm
  • Claire McCartney (Policy and Practice Manager (Resourcing and Inclusion) at Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD))
  • Jonny Briggs (Inclusion and Resource Director at Aviva)
  • Nikki Pound (Policy Officer (Women's Equality) at Trade Union Congress (TUC))
Room 6, Palace of Westminster
Tuesday 25 March 2025
2:00pm Private
2:20pm Public
Equality at work: paternity and shared parental leave - Oral evidence 25 March 2025
2:20pm
  • Jonny Briggs (Inclusion and Resource Director at Aviva)
  • Claire McCartney (Policy and Practice Manager (Resourcing and Inclusion) at Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD))
  • Nikki Pound (Policy Officer (Women's Equality) at Trade Union Congress (TUC))
The Wilson Room, Portcullis House
Wednesday 26 February 2025
2:00pm Private
2:20pm Public
Equality at work: paternity and shared parental leave - Oral evidence 26 February 2025
2:20pm
  • Alex Lloyd Hunter (Co founder at The Dad Shift)
  • Joeli Brearley (Founder and Director at Pregnant Then Screwed)
  • Karla Capstick
3:20pm
  • Dr Gemma Mitchell (Associate Professor in Law at University of East Anglia)
  • Abby Jitendra (Principal Policy Adviser at Joseph Rowntree Foundation)
  • Dr Sarah Forbes (Co-Director at The Equal Parenting Project)
  • Jemima Olchawski (Chief Executive at The Fawcett Society)
Room 8, Palace of Westminster

Contact us

We receive a significant number of emails each day. All requests and invitations are considered but we do not respond directly to everyone. Please be aware, the committee does not look at individual cases or specific complaints.