Especially in the financial sector, the wealth and wage gap between men and women is very wide. How could boosting paternity leave be a source of greater equality?
How do we increase financial equality between men and women? The financial inequality between men and women starts early. When children are 6 years old and receive pocket money for the first time, boys already receive clearer instructions on how to use money. However, the biggest gap occurs when women have their first child.
Paternity leave is available to ABN AMRO employees, but is hardly taken - even though it is a scientifically proven effective tool against wealth inequality. This often occurs after having a child, with women losing an average of 50% of their income compared to men losing 0%. When fathers are involved in family life from the very beginning, we see that an equal start ensures a better balance between work and family in the long term.
The Bouw Box is a paternity gift with a magazine that encourages reflection on equality in care tasks within young families - and presents taking paternity leave in the light of equality as essential. Through reframing and experiential stories, taking paternity leave is becoming the norm instead of the exception.
The Bouw Box is a gift that every expectant parent who works at ABN AMRO receives as a gift. At first glance, this box contains a simple block box, but with a special message. When having a child, life is going to look very different, you need to consciously think about how you are going to reshape the building blocks of your life in the future. What is the ideal balance between parenting, family life and work for you? The magazine that comes with the construction box encourages ABN AMRO employees to think about this new interpretation with their partner. In the magazine, people from all levels of the organization talk about their experiences with birth and parental leave and an expert talks about the positive effects of good attachment. This way, you can have an inspired conversation with both your partner and your manager and create more engagement, equality and trust from the very beginning. Because taking paternity leave is not a sign of avoiding responsibility, but rather taking it. A nice detail: the Bouw Box is a zero waste product. It is completely sustainably produced from recycled wood, with biodegradable ink and in a factory where people with a distance from the labor market work.
Diversiteit & Inclusie Consultant
Ik heb werken met Ink Social Design bijzonder prettig ervaren. Keer op keer hebben ze ons positief verrast en onze verwachtingen overtroffen gedurende het proces van de Bouw Box, een ouderschapsverlof cadeau met een doel. Er is een succesvolle pilot gedraaid met de Bouw Box wat niet alleen mooi voor het oog was, maar ook impactvol. Het team van Ink Social Design zijn experts die maatschappelijke vraagstukken en duurzame oplossingen in een prachtig jasje bij elkaar brengen.
