SHE'S A media dream. Last fall, Cherie Blair, the wife of British prime minister Tony Blair, shocked the nation by announcing that, at age 45, she is pregnant. Last week, she made headlines again when, in a speech at King's College, she publicly encouraged her husband to take paternity leave, following the example of Finland's prime minister, who in 1998 took a break from running the country to help his wife with their newborn child.
Blair's plea is especially timely, given that British men were granted rights to paternity leave just three months ago. For most men, the leave is unpaid; Blair, like other members of Parliament, is entitled to compensation.
Not surprisingly, Cherie's announcement has caused controversy. Family activists are ecstatic, and are expected to put tremendous pressure on the prime minister to take the leave that they have fought so hard to grant. Big business owners and those who oppose parental leave most certainly will criticize Blair if he chooses publicly to endorse paternity leave.
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Blair's decision is both personal and political, which is perhaps why it has been so difficult for him to respond publicly to his wife's challenge. But for her sake -- and the rest of Britain's women -- he should take the leave.
For all the talk of women's liberation and breaking the glass ceiling, there remains a particular strain of gender inequity. Few would flat out admit that it's permissible for women to be paid 30 percent less than men for the same work, or to hold far fewer upper-level administrative positions.
Yet often there is vocal disparagement of high-powered career women who choose to leave their children in the care of nannies or day care centers and return to work within a year of pregnancy. At the same time, the fear of women suddenly up and leaving their jobs once they become pregnant often is the reason they are passed up for promotions and generally have a harder time climbing the corporate ladder.
These attitudes, and their consequences, of course, are based on the notion of women as the primary caretakers of children. No one expects a man to take a substantial amount of leave when he becomes a father -- though they may consider the possibility. And since no one anticipates an untimely departure, his path to the corner office is rarely as obscured.
So a woman faces a difficult choice when she becomes pregnant. She can leave her job for a few years while she raises a child -- a move that society tends to deem "best for the child" -- but the job might not be there when she returns. Or, she can take a three- month maternity leave -- which also may have its own professional repercussions -- and make the agonizing (and expensive) decision of who's going to watch the child for her, all the while fighting a nagging feeling that she's "being a bad mother" for wanting a career.
This is the main reason why paternity leave, despite its obvious benefits for men, is particularly important. Not only does it finally recognize the role that the father plays in the life of a child, a role that is often overlooked in the breadwinner ideal, but it also holds them responsible for that role, attempting to take some of the stress of child-rearing from women.
Obviously, as prime minister, Blair has a more demanding job than most fathers, and it is certainly understandable that the idea of a few weeks' absence from that job concerns him. It's also important to note that Cherie holds a demanding job as an attorney, a job she surely is anxious to return to as well. In light of the few months that she most likely will need to recover from the pregnancy and care for the child, a week or two of paternity leave -- in the home he works out of most days, anyway -- seems like little for Blair to complain about.
Blair also has an important political opportunity to make a statement about gender equity in Great Britain. If he refuses to take the leave, he will reinforce the message that child-rearing is first and foremost women's work; that women have to make career sacrifices when they choose to have children, but that men do not. He will imply that paternity leave is not vital to families -- that the legislation that the Labour party worked for years to pass is not as crucial as they made it out to be.
On the other hand, if he chooses to take a few weeks to help Cherie and his new child, Blair will vindicate Parliament's important decision to recognize the role of the father.
Most of all, though, he will provide essential support to his wife, a woman who has been successful in her own right, and still steadfastly supportive of each and every one of his political decisions. Now Cherie has made a decision of her own -- she doesn't want to make all the sacrifices that come with motherhood. Thanks to family activists, the government now offers paternity leave. Blair should take it like a man.
(Katie Dodd's column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily.)
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