Martin Ehala ⟩ The government is planning a million-euro campaign to disparage women

Martin Ehala, editor of the «Society and Human» section of Fookus. Photo: Eero Vabamägi

• Until now, the state has recognized child-rearing as work.
• Now a signal is being sent that it is a form of shirking employment.
• The allowance for taking care of a sick child may end up costing more than the expected savings.

Starting from 2026, the government plans to stop paying social security contributions for non-working spouses, aiming to save 1.5 million euros. This is a cynical plan, and its economic impact might be negligible, editor of Fookus Martin Ehala writes.

On the Sept. 3 broadcast of «Aktuaalne Kaamera,» Social Protection Minister Signe Riisalo stated: «This is a matter of principle, as everyone else works to secure their health insurance, and as a society, we are paying public money to cover those whose families are wealthy enough that one parent can stay at home and does not have to work.» Essentially, Riisalo is saying that these people shirk employment.

According to the law, this support is paid to the spouse of an insured person if they are within five years of retirement age. It also applies to spouses raising at least one child under eight years old or three children under 16.

One might somewhat understand if the minister were accusing a non-working pre-retiree of shirking employment, but to say that women raising small children are not working shows a complete lack of emotional intelligence.

For years, it has been rightly said that women bear a disproportionately heavy burden of unpaid work, most of which involves caregiving to keep the home, children, and family maintained, stress-free, and happy. Many of these women who dedicate themselves to managing their families are mothers of multiple children. Until now, the state has recognized this as work and paid their social security contributions. But now, the social protection minister is bluntly saying, «everyone else is working,» as if the work of a stay-at-home mother does not count. This is a denigration of motherhood and disparagement of women more broadly.

Women have long fought for the right to freely decide how to live their lives and what choices to make. But now the minister of social protection stigmatizes being a stay-at-home mother as a life choice. It is said that patriarchy once kept women chained to the stove, however, Riisalo's comments are a perfect example of how today's society figuratively forces women into office chairs and subjects them to harsh judgment.

To top it all off, this measure may not even result in financial savings. Many women with several small children at home are not staying out of the workforce due to an overflow of wealth, but because, for large families, it may make more economic sense to focus on the family. Working would increase other costs associated with keeping the family running. Moreover, this could likely result in higher stress levels for both parents and children, leading to more disputes about family management, damaging relationships, and, ultimately, children being more stressed and sick.

The state does, however, pay for caring for a sick child, covering 80 percent of wages for up to seven days starting from the first day. Considering that the minimum social tax for health insurance is 239 euros per month, for a salary of 1,700 euros, the state's cost for a mother caring for a sick child for a week would exceed the monthly minimum social tax. Therefore, it is not unlikely that this measure could end up costing the state more than the savings it hopes to achieve. In the process, women and motherhood will have been disparaged for a million euros.