High Chairs and Cuddles: How Parliaments Treat Legislative Mothers, Australia / NZ News & Top Stories



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WELLINGTON (REUTERS) – When New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern returns to parliament after becoming the world's second elected leader to have a baby in power, her daughter will be allowed to cuddle with her during debates and swimming

This access, almost non-existent a year ago, highlights the willingness of many countries to make their parliaments more welcoming to children and their parents, while legislatures are diversifying and the rules can be surprisingly hostile to new parents.

"I think we have not done a pretty good job," said Trevor Mallard, the Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament, who can be seen from time to time holding babies for his members while He oversees a heated debate. For mothers … I just want them to understand that we will be as friendly as possible to their babies. "

These measures are aimed at enhancing diversity in parliament and hosting a baby boom since last September's elections, when two women workers with infants took their seats, while Ardern and the women's minister , Julie Anne Genter, announced their pregnancies early in the year

BABY CHAMBER

Experts say they have a critical mass of women leaders whose needs The representation of women has remained stubbornly well below half in most world legislatures.

Progress is uneven, despite images of parliamentarians feeding babies in Australia and Canada on social media.

Many legislatures, including British House of Commons, do not allow babies, which is a challenge for all breastfeeding mothers among lawmakers, whose day begins remember t early and ends late, with few breaks. ] In November, for example, Japanese legislator Yuka Ogata was ordered to leave a town hall after taking her son for seven months to highlight the difficulties of juggling a career and children.

Political parties around the world are grappling with the fallout from the legislature's baby exclusion, especially when the presence of a parent is crucial to ensuring the desired outcome of a vote

. , a last-minute historic change to the rules of the US Senate allowed Senator Tammy Duckworth to bring with her her newborn daughter, Maile, against President Donald Trump's presidential candidate at the head of the agency space of NASA. Said Kelly Dittmar, assistant professor at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University in New Jersey

. Men are also allowed to bring their children to the debate room. Some parliaments are considering alternatives to the Swedish Riksdag, which provides formal parental leave, including for men, while the UK House of Commons discusses proxy voting arrangements to help new parents

. Representatives can use a daycare and rooms with changing tables and toys, and the speaker also opened the kids' pool, in addition to adding high chairs in the Parliament's cafe and ordering a playground on his lawn.

to bring babies into the debate room to feed them, but the President has expanded this rule to allow young children to be present at all times to bond with their parents.

Ardern, who discovered that she was unexpectedly pregnant in October, gave birth to her first child, Neve Te Aroha, on June 21.

She was the first pregnant woman elected to do so since Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto in 1990.

Ardern has already received some advice from first MP Willow Jean Prime, who arrived at the New Zealand Parliament in September with his seven-week-old daughter, Heeni

. this time, I think we tested all the elements of this place and if it was also suitable for children and family, "Prime told Reuters in his office, equipped with a basket and bath diapers. ] (function (d, s, id) {
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