Darian Kuxhouse, Campus Carrier Opinions Editor
When was the last time you heard about a mother who took maternity leave? And what about a father who took paternity leave? Your answers are probably very different. Maternity leave is widely granted across professions. However, what isn’t widely accepted is paternity leave.
According to NPR, American men generally do not take more than a few days of leave. Ninety-six percent of American men are back to work within two weeks of a baby’s birth. Not only is there a cultural stigma against men staying home to take care of their kids, but New York Times writer Ron Lieber says that there is also concern that men will have a stall in their career should they take the leave, unlike women who do the same.
“There might be some stigma attached,” says Gordon Dahl, an economist at the University of California, San Diego. “What if I take paternity leave, will I not get the next promotion? Am I kind of signaling that I don’t care about work enough?”
Liza Mundy of the New America Foundation has found that fathers who are able to take paternity leave are more attentive in taking care of the baby during the difficult first few weeks and later tend to be even more active in the child’s life as they grow up. These fathers share equal roles with their partners and have an even distribution of household and baby responsibilities. These fathers are challenging social norms and are actually improving the lives of their partners too.
What people aren’t realizing is that mothers benefit from more than just the extra help in the first few weeks. According to Mundy, women whose partners take leave as well go back to work afterward in much higher numbers. Businesses and society benefit from women reentering the workforce after labor because this boosts male participation in the household, enhances female participation in the labor force and promotes gender equity in both domains.
More and more businesses are allowing for longer paternity leave, or rather for neutral leave, so that parents have the freedom to spend those crucial weeks after the birth taking care of their child and getting into a routine that doesn’t place greater stress on one parent. Netflix offers one year of paid parental leave to employees, regardless of gender. In addition, Microsoft added eight weeks of leave to its existing policy to make 12 total weeks, and Facebook offers four weeks of paid leave. Also, according to the Washington Post, the Pentagon has recently decided to extend their maternity leave to 12 weeks, but only extended their paternity leave from 10 to 14 days.
The Pentagon’s Defense Sec. Ashton B. Carter told reporters at the Pentagon, “As we introduce today’s reforms, our calculation is quite simple. We want our people to be able to balance two of the most solemn commitments they could ever make: a commitment to serve their country and a commitment to start and support a family.” While many people are excited about the increased maternity leave, the Pentagon should have made the paternal leave equal to the maternal. Carter’s statement said “our people,” so why aren’t all of their people being treated equally?
While this influx of companies taking the plunge to offer paternity leave is wonderful, it also isn’t the end of this battle. In order to get widespread and inclusive policies, more men need to take a stand and demand paternity leave. Companies need to follow leading companies like Netflix, Google and Microsoft to become better employers, and in return, have happier and more productive employees. The stigma against stay-at-home dads who participate in domestic tasks needs to be broken down so that greater equality in households can be reached and so that children can grow up happier and healthier. Mothers shouldn’t have to choose between their career and children, and neither should fathers.