Forgotten American Fathers

Extending fathers’ parental leave will help address the paternity paradox

It’s no secret that there’s a fundamental issue within US businesses when it comes to parental leave and how organizations support families. The US is one of the least family-friendly of the world’s richest countries, and the only one that offers no statutory paid maternity or paternity leave. 

But while the conversation around women’s maternity rights is well-established – although far from a solved problem – fathers’ feelings have had little to no consideration at all. It’s time for this to be addressed. Research we have conducted with Censuswide has highlighted that men now face a ‘paternity paradox’, of wanting successful careers and being devoted fathers, experiencing the same difficulties that women have encountered for generations when it comes to balancing work and children. 

Therefore, we’re championing paid time off for all – which would allow men to bond with their babies and support new mothers while promoting gender equality. Currently, just 29% of US companies give employees any kind of paid paternity leave, and our research has found only 32% of men take all of the leave available to them.

Organizations need to do more to support working parents. Nobody should have to choose between being good at their job and being a good parent – but there’s a long way to go to help working parents strike the right balance.

Historically, the focus has swayed towards working mothers – with fathers too often being excluded from the conversation – but men should be able to take more time off to bond with their new-born and adjust to their whole new reality together as a family. Our research, however, shows fathers are coming up against significant barriers:

o    65% of men experienced a significant gap between workplace messaging and reality compared to 48% of women
o    63% of men think taking an extended parental leave hurts their career, compared to 49% of women
o    61% think their career has slowed down in comparison to colleagues without children compared to 50% of women
o    65% of men have experienced working parent guilt, compared to 62% of women

It’s clear that more needs to be done by US businesses to champion working dads. With the right support, the relationship between parenthood and professional success can be mutually beneficial – while employers have a crucial role to play in supporting employees throughout – and beyond – their transition to parenthood.

We often talk about the penalties brought by motherhood, but it’s time we start talking about – and addressing – the fatherhood penalty too. Extending parental leave is just one way of doing this. 

Teresa Hopke is the CEO of Talking Talent US. Visit www.talking-talent.com Connect Teresa Hopke Follow @talkingtalent