A new OECD policy brief shows that despite the fact that 23 OECD countries now offer paid parental leave, for use by both parents, uptake among fathers is low.
The brief shows that while men often take a few days of paternity leave right after the birth of a baby, "it's only the most committed and bravest" who use their full entitlement.
In fact, the OECD report claims that fathers account for less than one in five of those taking parental leave with the highest percentages (40 per cent or more) in some Nordic countries and Portugal, while only one in fifty men take their full entitlement in Australia.
The good news is that the trend is improving on average; it's just taking a long time and is happening very slowly. The reason why this is important for women is that by enabling fathers to take on a greater share of the responsibility for caring for children, parental leave can make it easier for women to return to the workplace and balance their work and professional responsibilities.
The OECD research shows that fathers who take parental leave are more likely to be involved in day-to-day tasks such as feeding and bathing children and that this is likely to continue in the longer term.
In addition, this contact has benefits for kids and may lead to greater cognitive functioning and better physical and emotional health. The benefits for dads are equally as compelling and the OECD research claims it leads to greater life satisfaction and better physical and mental health.
When parental leave is reinforced by flexible work arrangements such as part time/job share or work from home options the advantages spill down to mums, dads and children.
Flexible work options make it easier for both parents to return to work after the birth of a child and despite the well-known advantages of offering parents more flexible ways of working, a recent survey by Bain and Company and Chief Executive Women Australia showed that fewer than 50 per cent of Australian organisations have a workplace flexibility policy and that even where they do exist there are barriers to effective utilisation which mean the potential benefits are not achieved.
The challenge with parental leave is that in many families the decision to take leave is determined by personal circumstances, when the male partner earns more than the female partner it may simply be more economically viable for the mum to take a longer period of leave than the dad.
The OECD suggests a couple of ways to circumnavigate this problem, such as reserving a portion of paid parental leave for fathers, which means that if the dad chooses to take the leave his partner's entitlement isn't affected but if he doesn't take the leave then he loses it. The OECD brief claims these ‘daddy quotas' seem to increase the uptake of parental leave among men.
Another option is to ensure parental leave is well paid, to ensure it is a financially viable option for families. Many families struggle with the added expense of a new baby and OECD research shows that take up of parental leave among men is highest when the leave is well paid.
We are interested to hear how you managed parental leave in your family, did the male in your family take leave beyond the initial few days after birth and how did you manage arrangements in the first year? Would flexible work options have improved your experience?
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