It may be surprising to hear, but one of the largest hurdles facing those who wish to improve the conditions for women in both the home and the workplace is that a particular benefit has long been denied to men: paternity leave. Equitable division of labor does not just apply to housework, after all. If you or your organization truly want to prioritize equality of opportunity and improved social cohesion in the office and in the home, allocating resources to provide or improve paternity leave offerings is a logical first step.
Heteronormative views on parenthood have resulted in many companies only offering leave to birth mothers. Of course, it is necessary, as birth is a major medical event that requires time to recover and recuperate. Yet, the perception that women should be the primary caretakers for children has contributed to biological fathers, LGBTQ parents in same-sex relationships, and adoptive parents historically being prevented from accessing the same levels of paid family leave. After all, if “real men” are only “secondary caretakers” or if no one in the couple had to personally birth the child, what do they need time off for? Across many cultures, these social pressures based on stereotypes that men are not capable caretakers for children discourage men from taking paternity leave when it is available to them. This gender bias results in some managers punishing the careers of men who take leave, as they are seen as wasting their time doing “women’s work.”
Avoiding and Overcoming Traditional Gender Role Pitfalls
Naturally, then, the antidote is updating one’s mindset. If both parents were expected and encouraged to take leave to nurture their children and take care of their families, then the gendered bias against mothers would vanish overnight. The benefits for men, too, can not be overstated. With regards to work, a survey by McKinsey & Company found that following paternity leave, workers felt energized and viewed their company more positively following their leave. With regards to family, 100% of the surveyed men were glad that they did and would choose to take it again with any future children, feeling that it allowed them to develop a strong bond with their child. Additionally, 90% found that their leave contributed to an improvement in their relationship with their partner.
Therefore, companies that wish to promote equity and inclusion within their workforce need to champion paternity leave the same way that the International Congress of Working Women did for maternity leave over 100 years ago. Today, maternity leave is commonplace, with 96% of countries guaranteeing leave for new mothers. In fact, there are only 7 countries, of which the US is one, that do not. In contrast, 53.5% of countries mandate paternity leave by law. Even fewer (39.5%) guarantee full pay for the entire duration of the leave, despite the fact that the average amount of time taken for paternity leave is currently only 1.98 weeks.
U.S. States that guarantee paid parental leave under law
Credit: Inkscape, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Practical Applications of Equitable Parental Leave
Crediting its adherence to Swedish cultural values highlighting healthy work-life balance and gender equality, Spotify offers generous parental leave. From the moment they start at the company, all staff are offered six months of leave with full pay that can be taken at any point before the child’s third birthday. This, on top of an additional month of flexible scheduling when they choose to return to work, indicates that Spotify stands strongly behind their values and all of their staff and their families.
At Indeed.com, employees banded together to create a Parent and Caregiver employee resource group (ERG) to provide support for all their peers who have to balance their work with essential care tasks. This ERG, amongst others, successfully campaigned to improve leave benefits at Indeed, and as of 2023 all employees are also now able to access 6 months of paid leave and a transition month at full pay to care for new children, biological, fostered, or adopted. In addition, they now receive 15 days of fully-paid leave that can be taken to complete any caregiving need.
Credit: Will Buckner, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rethinking our perception of parenthood and the cultural norms of what it means to be a parent are necessary steps to improving circumstances for all. Research shows that many fathers who take leave spend their time doing caretaking tasks and participating in activities that support their child’s development and welfare. These hands-on modern dads spend more time playing with their children, bathing and changing them, as well as feeding them and caring for them throughout the night. When men are given time to do this high-quality care work, it leads to stronger and healthier parent-child bonds.
Lost Potential: Lacking the “Equity At Home” Mindset
However, not all fathers use their leave to the benefit of their families. During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, a study in Spain revealed that the number of men taking paternity leave showed a statistically significant increase compared to the previous and following years. This indicates that, for some, paternity leave is seen as a paid vacation to be used to pursue hobbies and personal interests. This could not be more wrong. Parental leave should instead be seen as time to learn and understand the constant, heavy responsibilities of care work.
Taking that opportunity to learn how to work in tandem with your partner and divide childcare and housework duties equally will unburden millions of women. Equity in the home and true partnerships not only empower women to pursue their passions, their careers, and leadership, but also to nurture children into the next generation of inclusive-minded, thoughtful, and responsible adults.
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