Is is fair that new fathers have different rights to new mums? JENNY SCOTT asked two women for their opinions on a subject which is currently being hotly debated. . .

SHOULD dads be entitled to the same amount of leave that mums get when they have a child? The subject of paternity leave is something of a hot potato at the moment, with parties on both sides weighing in with fairly convincing-sounding arguments.

Thanks to changes in the law last year new fathers are now entitled to two weeks' leave with statutory paternity pay.

New mums, meanwhile, can get 52 weeks of maternity leave with statutory maternity pay for the first 26 weeks.

But some voices, including that of the Equal Opportunities Commission, suggest fathers should be getting a better deal, with leave and pay more in line with what mums are entitled to.

We asked two East Lancashire business women for their opinions -- and got some very different answers.

HELEN FLYNN, managing director of Hub Marketing, gave birth to her daughter Jess in December 2001 when she was consulting for a marketing agency. She took six months off work, returning part time for two months and was back full time after eight months. . .

TAKING time off when I had my child was really important for me, helping me to develop a strong bond with my baby without worrying about pressure from work.

I also needed the time and opportunity to breast feed -- although this isn't every mother's choice.

But, more practically, when you have had a baby you are absolutely shattered, physically and mentally, and you get very little sleep (well, in my experience anyway), so going to work would have been difficult. However, some women do wish to return to work, some need to work and some wish to spend as much time at home with their child as is financially viable and this choice is extremely important. In a world of increasing equality, some women are the main breadwinners and it would be more financially viable for the father to stay at home with the child.

It's also important for families to bond -- and for men to have the opportunity to be at home with the woman and baby -- so, in my mind, two weeks' leave for men would be a minimum.

I believe that choice is what matters and would like to see mothers and fathers share the 52 weeks entitlement -- for example, if the mother had first 26 weeks off and father took the balance. Whether this is practically possible, I've no idea.

I believe that women and men make equal contributions to business and that sharing the maternity leave would make no difference at all -- each case is unique.

JEAN LAWSON, managing director of Science In Sport. Jean gave birth to her three children nearly 40 years ago and gave up her job so she could bring them up. . .

WHEN I had my children I could only take six weeks' maternity leave, so leaving them at that age was not an option. And there was no part-time or flexible work to go back to.

From a personal point of view, it would have been nice to have had my husband at home for a long time.

My husband took two weeks' holiday -- that's what we had to do at that time.

However, the effects of a long period of paternity leave on a small business could affect a company so much it could cease trading. Paternity leave is a good idea in theory, but I think it could probably only work in a big company, where maybe it wouldn't affect them if it was just one person out of 500. In a small business, where it's one person out of six or 10, it could bring the whole place to a standstill.

I know it's not very politically correct, but I don't think things have changed that much. Children are still dependent on their mothers, no matter how involved dads are. I'm not saying fathers aren't very important, but mums are the ones children depend upon.