United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has temporarily removed the image of the parent from its iconic 70-year-old ‘parent and child’ logo to commemorate Father’s Day that falls today.
The move was taken to emphasise the need for family friendly policies to support parents in Sri Lanka so that they could play an increased role in the healthy growth and development of their children.
“Parents require time to parent their children, and family-friendly policies, such as paid parental leave and breastfeeding breaks, enable them to give their children the best start,” UNICEF said in a statement. “While Sri Lanka has made strides, the implementation and availability of family-friendly policies for parents in the workplace are inconsistent in both the public and private sectors.”
UNICEF called for increased investment in four priority areas. They are at least 6 months of paid parental leave that is available for both parents; breastfeeding facilities and paid breastfeeding breaks for women returning to work; affordable, accessible and quality childcare services; and child grants that support all families with children.
“Parenting is the most important job in the world, but for many their working life is limiting their ability to parent in the way they would really like, impacting the health and education of their children,” said Tim Sutton, Representative, UNICEF Sri Lanka.