Despite clear benefits, California dads aren’t taking paid parental leave | Opinion

A report from McKinsey and the nonprofit Moms First released earlier this year highlights what many have long suspected: Dads are not taking paid parental leave.

The analysis of paid leave programs in California, New York and New Jersey found that fewer than one-third of eligible fathers used their benefits in 2022. Strikingly, this meant that fathers were half as likely as mothers to use their benefits.

As a labor economist and a new father to a beautiful boy named Rafi, I see this unused leave as a massive missed opportunity for families and society as a whole. By giving fathers the chance to gain confidence as caregivers, paternal leave can have a lasting impact on family dynamics, women’s access to the workforce and cultural norms.

I was fortunate to have four months of paid parental leave, three of which I spent as Rafi’s primary caregiver while my wife returned to work. Spending every day with Rafi meant that I understood his needs and interests as well as anyone. Now that we’re both back at work, we have been able to navigate parenthood with mutual understanding and a shared respect for each other’s capacity to care for him.

Our experience matches a growing body of research on the benefits of fathers taking parental leave. In a review of research on policies to increase maternal workforce participation, I found that parental leave for fathers produces more consistently positive outcomes than any other policy, with benefits persisting long after fathers return to work.

Meanwhile, a 2019 Spanish study showed that fathers who received just two weeks of paternity leave spent an additional hour per day on child care — an effect that lasted at least three years. A similar study in Quebec found that fathers who received five weeks of leave spent an average of 40 more minutes per day on child care and housework, and their wives were more likely to stay in the workforce. Likewise, these differences lasted for all three years of the study.

Other studies have revealed even longer-term effects on families: Norway introduced one of the first paternity leave policies in 1993, granting four weeks of leave to new fathers. A study conducted 15 years later found that couples who benefited from the policy had less conflict over household chores and reported greater marital satisfaction than those whose first child was born a year earlier.

Recent research using data from across Europe also suggests that paternal leave even influences the next generation: Young men whose fathers took parental leave are less likely to implicitly associate men with work and women with child care compared to those born before the policies were in place.

Yet, despite clear evidence of its benefits, the Moms First and McKinsey report underscores that many fathers still do not take advantage of this opportunity. Whether due to workplace culture, financial concerns or lack of awareness, too many men miss out on this experience. If we want paid leave policies to fulfill their potential, we need to shift policies and attitudes — encouraging fathers to use their leave in recognition of the long-term value of their involvement at home.

Parental leave for dads is an investment in parenting skills and a recognition of the challenges of parenting that allow us be fully engaged in our child’s development even when we go back to work.

For families, it’s an investment in mutual understanding and shared decision-making that can create more harmonious relationships over decades. And for our society, it’s an investment in a culture where men and women can fully experience the joys and challenges of raising children as well as those of the workplace.