Stories
NCW Proposes Gender-Neutral 730-Day Childcare Leave To Transform Parenting
- •The National Commission for Women has proposed transforming the existing women-centric 730-day Child Care Leave system into a gender-neutral framework where either parent can share the leave.
- •The recommendations include splitting the 730 days equally between working parents, introducing a 60:40 shared-care model for early childhood, and extending benefits to the private sector.
- •The proposal aims to prevent motherhood from acting as a career penalty by encouraging active participation from fathers in childcare.
- •Additional measures include mandatory paid paternity leave, a National Childcare Infrastructure Mission targeting five lakh creche seats by 2030, and benefits for informal and gig workers.
Key Questions Answered
The NCW has proposed transforming the existing women-centric 730-day Child Care Leave system into a gender-neutral framework. Under this proposal, the 730 days could be divided equally between both working parents or accessed as a common pool if they work for the same organization, while also extending the benefit to the private sector.
Child Care Leave is designed to allow an employee to look after an existing child rather than for pregnancy, childbirth, or the immediate post-delivery period. While maternity leave is linked specifically to pregnancy and childbirth under applicable laws, CCL is an entitlement for eligible central government employees during their entire service for their two eldest surviving children.
In March 2026, the Supreme Court urged the Union government to introduce a legal provision recognizing paternity leave as a social security benefit. The court noted that the absence of paternity leave reinforces traditional gender roles by preventing willing fathers from participating meaningfully in early childcare.
