Sweden wants to force new dads to take three months paid paternity leave

New and expecting parents in the United States, read this and weep.

As you cobble together your annual leave (if you have any) and sick leave (if you are entitled to it) to spend a few weeks with your newborn baby, over in Sweden the government wants to give dads a third month of parental leave.   

Did we mention that it would also be paid?

Under the proposal, Sweden, which already has one of the best parental leave systems on the planet, would force new dads to spend at least 90 days with their offspring starting next year.

New Swedish parents currently receive a staggering 480 days, or 16 months, of paid leave. The policy also extends to single parents and parents who adopt children.

Under a use-or-lose-it system, mothers and fathers are required to take a minimum of two months leave. The rest of the time can be shared between the parents as they like. And get this — they have until the child’s eighth birthday to use it up.

Men, on average, take nearly a quarter of the leave. But the Swedish government is concerned that too many dads are not spending enough time with their offspring, and they want to reserve three of the 16 months exclusively for them.

A third month “is something we’ve really looked forward to. We know that this is a key issue towards attaining greater (gender) equality,” Swedish Social Security Minister Annika Strandhäll told Radio Sweden, AFP reported.

The government is expected to submit a bill to parliament in the autumn and it's likely to pass.  

Taking parental leave is a no-brainer in Sweden and, according to the Economist, nearly all dads do it. While changing diapers or watching their kid run around the playground, parents are receiving nearly 80 percent of their normal pay, capped at around $4,500 a month, for 390 days. The remaining 90 days are paid at a flat rate.  

And even if they don’t have a job, Swedish parents are still entitled to paid leave.

Compare that to the United States, where new parents are guaranteed just 12 weeks of “job-protected” unpaid leave so long as they have spent at least 12 months working for the same company, which must have a minimum of 50 employees, and clocked up at least 1,250 hours at the office.

Given these restrictions it’s not surprising that only about 12 percent of working parents actually qualify, according to the Center for American Progress.

For a hilarious analysis of the US parental leave system, check out this recent episode of John Oliver's "This Week Tonight."

While few parents would expect the United States to match the Swedish parental leave system, which even Sweden admits is “super high by international standards,” surely the world’s biggest economy can offer something better than Papua New Guinea?