Paternal Leave

New fathers take less than a week of paid parental leave if they take any at all

A majority of Americans support fathers receiving paid parental leave. But few men take advantage of such programs, and those who do take only one week or less, says a new study from Ball State University.

“Paid Paternity Leave-Taking in the United States”, a study led by Ball State sociology professor Richard Petts, found current U.S. paternity leave policies seem to limit access and contributes to inequality between men and women.

“Paternity leave is especially important to study because it represents a version of family leave-taking that is rare in comparison to maternity leave, yet it offers substantial possibilities for alleviating work-family conflicts and encouraging increased father involvement, mothers’ well-being, and gender equity in the divisions of domestic and paid labor responsibilities,” Petts said. “This study expands prior research on paternity leave as well as confirms previous findings.”

The study will be published in an upcoming issue of Community, Work, & Family.

Research found a majority support paid parental leave for fathers: 54 percent of all GSS respondents, including 47 percent of male respondents.

Among fathers who take paid leave, most take one week or less. Only 14 percent of fathers who take leave use more than two weeks.

The research also found men with higher levels of income are more likely to paid leave and spend longer periods of time with newborns. Fathers who work part-time are less likely to take paid leave and take shorter leaves, Petts said.

“Fathers with higher incomes are more likely to be in a financial position that allows them to take time off work when a new child is born,” Petts said. “This privileged position may suggest that the opportunity cost of taking leave is higher for fathers with high incomes than for fathers with lower incomes—especially if wage replacement is less than 100 percent. Alternatively, higher incomes may be linked to greater benefits and autonomy in one’s career.”

The study also found that fathers who engaged in parenting activities prior to the child’s birth were more likely to take paid leave, and longer periods of leave, than fathers who were not involved prenatally.

“These fathers may have embraced caretaking father identities early and sought out ways to enact fathering roles,” Petts said. “Father identities may also be more salient for men making the transition to fatherhood as they actively seek ways to develop parenting skills. Indeed, we find that first-time fathers are more likely to take paid leave, and longer periods of leave, than fathers with other children. Finally, positive attitudes towards fathering are associated with longer periods of paid leave-taking. “

All high-income countries, except the U.S., have national policies mandating paid maternity leave. The only U.S. policy that includes provisions for parental leave is the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which allows employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave after childbirth or other family or medical reasons.

Petts said that because the U.S. does not offer statutory paid paternity leave, access is overwhelmingly dependent on workplace policies.

“This structure exacerbates the diverging destinies of families because more advantaged fathers have greater access and abilities to take paid leave than less advantaged fathers,” Petts said. “Future research should further assess the consequences of these disparities and examine the ways in which paternity leave-taking may influence families. Such knowledge will be important as policymakers seek to determine how changes in family leave policies may benefit American families.”

Note to Editors: Research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Developmentof the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R03HD087875. The content is solely the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.