Baja California Congresswoman Daylín García Ruvalcaba has introduced parallel initiatives at both the state and federal levels to expand paternity leave to 12 weeks with full pay. The proposal would bring paternity leave in line with existing maternity leave provisions, acknowledging fathers’ active and essential role in early childhood development.
“We cannot continue to uphold a system where women bear the full weight of care-giving while men are given barely five days to be present for the birth of their children,” García said. “It is time to rebalance the scales.”
The legislation, which would apply to state and municipal workers in Baja California, seeks to amend Article 29 of the Civil Service Law. Under the proposed framework, new fathers would be entitled to 12 weeks of leave, with the flexibility to defer up to four of those weeks within the 12 months following the birth.
In cases of adoption, the initiative provides for seven weeks of fully paid leave, with additional extensions available in the event of severe medical complications or the mother’s death.
The lawmaker emphasized that care-giving is a shared societal responsibility.
“If we truly want stronger families and children with better life opportunities, we must create real conditions for both parents to be involved from day one,” she added.
At the federal level, García is pushing for corresponding reforms to the Federal Labor Law, the Social Security Law, and the Federal Law of Workers Employed by the State. These changes would establish a 12-week paternity leave nationwide, along with a six-week leave for adoptive parents, to be implemented gradually and funded through social security institutions.
“Extending paternity leave is not just a labor measure: it is a public policy to reduce inequalities and build more equal relationships between women and men,” she explained.
Both the state and federal proposals are designed to move toward a model of genuine co-responsibility, in which parenting is no longer viewed as an exclusively maternal obligation, but as a joint endeavor shared by all who assume the roles of mother and father.
