Boosting paternity leave has economic benefits - Pregnant Then Screwed

That's exactly it. Research shows 80% of dads said they’d do anything to spend more time with their children. In Quebec, Canada, they ring-fenced properly paid paternity leave a number of years ago, and the uptake from men compared to the rest of Canada went through the roof. And this has so many benefits for society. There was one study by a unive... See more

3 in 5 fathers (63.7%) took two weeks or less paternity leave following the birth of their most recent child

Less than a third (29%) of fathers reported being able to access enhanced paternity leave pay around the birth of their most recent child

Half (48.3%) of fathers who had access to enhanced paternity pay were still only able to take two weeks o... See more

I would have loved to take more than two weeks off with my kids, but the reality is we just couldn’t afford it. As the main breadwinner, cutting my income down to statutory pay after two weeks would have meant struggling to pay the mortgage. Shared Parental Leave only works if both parents’ employers offer generous pay, which isn’t the case for mos... See more

Those choices can also create financial benefits for families. Paternity leave reduces the gender wage gap within households by increasing mothers’ wages in the short term and helping to increase total household financial well-being in the long term.11 Research conducted on roughly 9,000 families observed parental pay one year prior to childbirth a... See more

As the sole earner in his young family, 21-year-old Josh Wiborg couldn't take shared parental leave when his twin girls were born.

Like so many dads, he was entitled to only two weeks off work, at reduced pay.

He says it left him "feeling like a stranger" to his twin girls, Autumn and Winter, in the first few weeks of fatherhood.

“It was awful," he sa... See more

Firstly, such policies directly address the gender pay gap. Traditionally, women have taken longer career breaks for childcare, impacting their earning potential and career progression. By encouraging all parents to take substantial leave, we're promoting shared responsibility in childcare and reducing the disproportionate career impact on women.

Se... See more