New mothers and fathers should be entitled to equal parental leave, says the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission. This would involve fathers more in childcare and avoid women being stigmatised as being less attractive employees. The British equality watchdog is calling for 4 months of paid parental leave for each parent, with at least eight weeks at 90% of their salary and the rest at a statutory rate of £ 470 per month. For the moment, mothers in the UK get 9 months of paid leave with six weeks at 90% and the rest at the statutory level. Fathers get two weeks at the statutory level. The watchdog’s proposal comes at a time when the UK Government is preparing to discuss the extension of maternity leave to a full year, a controversial issue for both government and business.