Should You Offer Paid Paternity Leave?
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Paid paternity leave is slow to becoming ubiquitous. A number of major media outlets have cited research by Ball State sociology professor Richard Petts, who found that only 5% of new dads take at least two weeks of parental leave.
Still, some companies are recognizing the role fathers play in the life of their children and how relevant this benefit is to families. They are taking note of the importance of both the parent-child bond and the adults in a family supporting one another. As a result, paternity leave is becoming a benefit intended to attract top talent and set apart an organization.
When deciding whether to offer paternity leave, HR leaders should consider:
The Law and Paternity Leave
Much of the law related to parental leave in general depends on the state in which you live. More than 10 states, including California, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut, and the District of Columbia have paid family leave acts, which include fathers. Many other states are considering such legislation.
The United States - despite talk of it in recent years - has no national paid family leave policy, which makes the country an anomaly among rich nations. The U.S. Family and Medical Leave Act, which is administered by the Department of Labor, guarantees that employees can take an unpaid, job-protected leave, with continuing health insurance, for specified family and medical reasons.
READ: How to Avoid Common Problems with Employee Leave Management
Those who qualify can take 12 weeks for the birth and care of a newborn, the placement of a child for adoption or foster care, to care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition, or to recover themselves from a serious medical condition. There are also stipulations regarding military families and their care.
While organizations are not required to offer paid leave to mothers or fathers, paid maternity leave has become more common, especially in white-collar jobs. But dads have not received the same treatment, even as they have taken on some more of the childcare responsibilities.
Paternity Leave Is Not Just for Dads
Giving dads paid time off is good for families. McKinsey recently reported on working mothers during the pandemic. These tumultuous times have taken their toll, and fewer women are in the workplace than have been in 30 years.
People, especially moms, are burned out. Giving dads paid time off to help ease the burden of moms is one way to address the lack of resources for women, according to McKinsey. In fact, 90% of men interviewed by McKinsey (in a survey of heterosexual couples) said they noticed an improvement in their relationship with their partner because they took leave. The same study found that paternity leave reduced the burden on mom, strengthened family bonds, and set the foundation for a more equal distribution of responsibilities in the future.
Paternity Leave Can Be Part of DEI Strategy
Providing parental leave for both mothers and fathers is a way to attract women job candidates, too. It is also a meaningful way to help lift families financially. McKinsey points to research published in the Journal of Marriage and Family that found parental pay one year before childbirth and again when children were on average 4 years old and found that mothers' income rose about 7% for each month that a father spent at home on paternity leave.
Sociologists coined the term motherhood penalty to desribe the systemic disadvantages women face in the workplace, said Joeli Brearley, author and founder of the Pregnant Then Screwed campaign, in an interview with the World Economic Forum. She points out that the motherhood penalty makes up 80% of the gender pay gap, and she argues that letting men take paternity leave could help level the paying field.
Of course, it's not just about moms and dads. Love is the only basis for families. Companies that want to recognize LGBTQ+ and adoptive parents can offer "parental bonding leave" or "secondary caregiver leave," according to McKinsey.
Companies that can afford to offer paid paternity leave should consider it. This decision has positive ripple effects that have the potential to improve employee engagement and experience and the lives of families. It also helps lift women by giving them much-needed support on the homefront, which means they are more likely to stick with their careers and could even narrow the gender pay gap.
Those HR leaders who offer paid paternity leave should see it as part of a greater strategy when it comes to work-life balance. After all, the Department of Labor shared that 48% of men working full time reported that job demands interfered with family life sometimes or often. Paid paternity leave, therefore, could be part of HR's transformation of work by addressing work-life balance.
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