The damper put on women’s careers by becoming mothers is one of main causes of pay inequality. New thinking on childcare would address that

Taking four months of paternity leave when my daughter was born meant simply that I was there. I was there when my wife was recovering from her C-section and needed someone to carry our newborn up and down the stairs. I was there to drive us to A&E after our baby cracked her head, and there for the awful nights in hospital that followed as we waited to see whether she would be OK. I was there to spend day after day arguing with my incredible wife until we found our balance, our equality and a way to parent that works for us both.

But despite a growing mountain of evidence from sources such as Pregnant Then Screwed and the Fatherhood Institute that decent paternity leave is good for dads, good for mothers and good for babies too, the vast majority of British families get nothing like the support I was offered by my employer in the private sector. The UK has the worst statutory paternity leave offer for dads and co-parents in Europe: just two weeks paid at £184.03 – less than half the minimum wage. Self-employed fathers get nothing.