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Work and Families Bill

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that clarification. I am sure that the hon. Member for Mid-Worcestershire will mention it to me in person, if we ever discuss the matter. I believe that the legislation will reduce discrimination against women of childbearing age, because if more men of the same age act as role models by taking greater paternity leave, it will become normal for all parents to do so. That is one of the reasons why I support the Bill, which will help us move towards a culture in which all people—male and female—can organise their lives to suit their caring responsibilities without fear of stigma in the workplace. I am in the unusual position of agreeing with something that the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs. May) said—she said that the business case for the legislation is proven, which is true. Businesses will benefit by having higher staff retention if they make it easier through this legislation to allow their employees to balance their work and family commitments, and anecdotal evidence shows that productivity rises in such cases. They will also have access to greater talents not only among their existing employees, who will not have to leave their jobs when the time comes to look after their families, but among a larger pool of potential employees, because more people will want to apply for work, realising that they can more easily balance their work and family commitments. I particularly support the measures in the Bill that give greater parental rights to fathers, which the evidence shows that they want. An Equal Opportunities Commission survey conducted earlier this year found that two thirds of fathers intend to take up their paternity rights, and nine out of 10 fathers take time off when their children are born. Crucially, half of fathers say that the existing legislation is not sufficient. The Bill is good for men, but because it is good for men, it is potentially good for women, too. It will end the pernicious cycle by which young adults who form a couple and who are equal on the career ladder before they start a family inevitably end up in a situation in which the woman experiences a pay gap after the first or second child. At the moment, because only the mother can take a substantial period of time off when a child is born, it becomes financially logical for the father to work longer hours and seek promotion and for the mother to remain at home. Fathers often work harder when their child is in its first year until their pay rises. When the mother returns to work after six months or one year, a wedge has begun to be driven between the salary of the man and the salary of the woman.