A fresh look at paternity leave: Why the benefits extend beyond the personal

“Taking leave is not normative,” says Richard Petts, a sociologist who specializes in research on parental leave, when explaining the paternity leave statistics that show how few men actually take more than a week of paid leave. He saw why first-hand when he struggled to get time off after the birth of his own child and cobbled together some sick d... See more

The only thing you need for this training program is engaged time with your baby. When you engage, your neural network tweaks itself to respond to your baby more quickly. When your brain responds more quickly the next time your baby needs you, you spend more time engaging with your baby. When you spend more time engaging with your baby, your neural... See more

The research found that fewer than one in five (18%) prospective parents say they or their partner could afford to take six weeks of paternity leave at the current statutory rate of pay. By contrast, 57% of prospective parents said they or their partner could afford to take six weeks of paternity leave if it was paid at 90% of their income, as stat... See more

There seems to be snowballing evidence that providing flexibility at workplaces, having access to paid leave, helps everybody, and it helps women, perhaps more than anybody else.

Not only in providing them what they need, but in providing opportunities for men to do more at home, for men to be more engaged.