Daddy days: the growing use of paternity leave

 Many, from feminists to evangelicals, have lamented the absence of fathers in families. But the growing use of paternity leave by businesses may be addressing this problem in unique and surprisingly healthy ways.So claims Liza Mundy in her article “The Daddy Track” in The Atlantic (January/February). She notes that while some larger, progressive companies have been offering paternity leave, now several states have come on board. California, as usual, leads the way. In 2002, she writes, “[it] became the first U.S. state to guarantee six weeks of paid leave for mothers and fathers alike, financed by a small payroll-tax contribution from eligible workers.” Later, New Jersey and Rhode Island offered 12 and 13 paid weeks, respectively.

Here’s the surprise, according to Mundy: “In the long run, the true beneficiaries of paternity leave are women, and the companies and nations that benefit when women advance.”

A report by the World Economic Forum showed that “countries with the strongest economies are those that have found ways to further women’s careers, close the gender pay gap and keep women—who in most nations are now better educated than men—tethered to the work force after they become mothers,” writes Mundy.

It’s an interesting strategy, if it even is a strategy. A 2007 study found that 60 percent of professional women who stopped working reported that they were largely motivated by their husbands’ unavailability to share housework and child-care duties,” writes Mundy.

Rather than simply raising the wages of women, which needs to happen anyway, paternity leave addresses some of women’s concerns.

Quebec has been offering such leave for some time. In 2006, it increased the financial benefits for paid leave and offered five weeks that could be taken only by fathers. This gave an extra incentive for men to take such leave. And studies found that “fathers who take paternity leave are more likely, a year or so down the road, to change diapers, bathe their children, read them bedtime stories and get up at night to tend to them,” writes Mundy.

You may say men should have been doing these things anyway, but in large part they haven’t. Such a change in behavior has other benefits as well. According to sociologist Scott Coltrane at the University of Oregon, when men share “routine repetitive chores,” women feel they are being treated fairly and are less likely to become depressed, writes Mundy.

Paternity leave also helps change the stigma of parenting. Some employers are more reluctant to hire younger women because they may get pregnant and require maternity leave. “The rise of paternity-leave plans,” writes Mundy, “raise the possibility that bosses will stop looking askance at the résumé of a 20-something female applicant, or at least apply the same scrutiny to a similar male applicant.”

Quebec’s plan has certainly led to changes, and early signs show that California’s paid-paternity-leave program is increasing in use. The percentage of “bonding leaves” claimed by men rose from 18.7 in 2005-6 to 31.3 in 2012-13.

Furthermore, it has not been shown to significantly decrease the number of jobs. Workplaces have figured out ways to adjust. “The biggest hurdle,” writes Mundy, “seems to be getting the word out, particularly among lower-income families.” And yes, in California, at least, the policy is that it extends leave to men in non-white-collar jobs.

As use of paternity-leave programs increases, writes Mundy, “working fathers increasingly report feeling more work-family conflict than working mothers do.”

Finding ways for fathers to be more involved in raising their children can only make for healthier families. It also helps create healthier communities.