The PP seeks to regain the initiative in the new political direction with very ambitious proposals for conciliation, with which it even eclipses the left-wing parties. Specifically, the most popular exceed the already significant expansions of parental leave that Moncloa wants to promotethrough the reform of family law. The biggest difference concerns withdrawals for single-parent families. The latter, according to the PP, would last 26 weeks, ten more than those provided for in the current family law, and which the government’s proposal does not modify – even if Sumar also insists on increasing them.
Regarding paternity and maternity leave for two-parent families, there is a surprising harmony between the projects of the executive of Pedro Sánchez and those of the PP. In both cases, They agree to increase them to 20 weeks, four above the limit set by the current standard. This initiative is part of the need to promote a conciliation law that the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, will submit today to Congress.
And there are still changes beyond the deadlines. The PP’s proposal not only includes the extension of maternity and paternity leave to an additional four weeks, but also proposes that it is not obligatory for parents to take the first six weeks after birth simultaneously. That is to say, it seeks to give parents the freedom to organize their lives and their work-life balance and thus “encourage authorizations to be consecutive and not simultaneous”. Concerning single-parent families, the PP seeks to assimilate these permits to those of large families.
And all this in a scenario where the family law is still awaiting parliamentary review. During the election period, the PSOE committed to extending maternity and paternity leave from 16 to 20 weeks. This measure is in line with the proposals of its Government partner, Sumar, who advocated a general leave of six months and 32 weeks for single-parent families (double what there is currently). However, it appears that the PSOE’s 20-week option is the one that will ultimately be implemented. This expansion is expected to be approved in 2025, either through general state budgets or through an amendment to the Family Law, which is still awaiting processing. Furthermore, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) granted the government the power to decide on the possible extension of leave to 32 weeks for single-parent families, establishing that the European directive does not address this issue. This gives the Spanish executive the freedom to make decisions in this area. In this case, Sumar, in his electoral program, indicated that he wanted to extend the benefits of large families to single-parent families.
Feijóo highlighted the worrying decline in the birth rate in Spain, an issue he considers of vital importance. “It is not fair that being a mother becomes a heroic feat for women”he declared last week during an event, emphasizing the urgency of implementing measures that promote both the birth rate and family conciliation.
The Deputy Secretary for Equality, Conciliation and Social Policy of the Popular Party, Ana Alós, reiterated the importance of promoting conciliation and co-responsibility in the family environment. In a context where 84% of care leave requests are submitted by women, compared to only 16% by men, Alós highlights the urgency of implementing policies that balance this inequality. Additionally, it was highlighted that currently women are three times more likely than men to work part-time due to caring responsibilities. In this sense, Alós presented the PP’s proposal to encourage the hiring of women who wish to re-enter the labor market. “What the PP wants is that when women want to return to work, companies benefit from incentives for two years to facilitate this hiring”, explain. Additionally, she added that women returning as self-employed workers could benefit from a two-year extension of their social security contributions, a move that aims to ease the economic burden at a crucial time in their careers.
Criticism of equality
The Minister of Equality, Ana Redondo, was quick to react to the intentions of the PP, considering them “incongruous”. In a statement, Redondo recalled that the PP had voted on several occasions against the expansion of parental leave and the equalization of these rights. Furthermore, he criticized the proposal to remove the requirement for both parents to share the first six weeks of leave, arguing that this approach neglects the need for co-responsibility and gender equity. “The PP does not believe in real and priority equality”» lamented Redondo, highlighting the lack of consistency in the party’s position on family conciliation.
The PP does not address social and feminist debates on maternity and paternity leave, nor does it use existing studies to support its proposal. The opposition is criticized for its argument based on “freedom”, without recognizing that this is not enough to change gender roles or fairly distribute care responsibilities. Data suggests that if leave is unpaid and non-transferable, women use it the most, contributing to the motherhood penalty and the pay gap. Recent studies show that while men take full leave, they do so in fractions, while women choose to take 16 consecutive weeks, reflecting behavioral patterns influenced by work culture and structure.
