Equimundo and Dove Men+Care partnered to carry out a pioneering study on what keeps fathers from taking parental leave and being the fully engaged caregivers they want to be.
The results – released in the Aider les papas à prendre soin de leurs proches report – confirm first and foremost that fathers want to be involved. The research was shared at a Congressional Briefing at the United States Senate on July 12, 2018 co-hosted by the National Partnerships for Women & Families.
Why this study?
Over the past 30 years, fathers in the United States have increased the time they spend with their children by nearly a third. More and more, both men and women want to equally share the care of children. Still, men are doing less caregiving than women.
Why? In part, it’s because fathers, like mothers and other caregivers, need support to care for their children, including time off from work after the birth or adoption of a child. The United States continues to be the only advanced economy in the world that does not provide nationally guaranteed paid parental leave.
Even unpaid leave is hard to come by in the United States. The latest figures show that fewer than 40% of workers, men and women, are eligible for and can afford to use unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. In terms of paid parental leave, access is lower still, with only 15% of male and female workers able to access paid leave through their employer.
However, even when women and men have access to paid leave, many parents – particularly fathers – don’t use it all. To explore this critical issue impacting men, women, and future generations, Equimundo and Dove Men+Care carried out an online survey of men and women aged 25 to 45, including 1,088 men (83% of whom were fathers) and 626 women (64% of whom were mothers).
Results:
L'étude a révélé que 731 pères sur 3 ont reconnu le manque de soutien de leur entreprise, et qu'un homme sur cinq craignait de perdre son emploi s'il prenait la totalité du congé paternité qui lui était offert. Il est à noter que 691 pères sur 3 ont confirmé qu'ils changeraient d'emploi pour passer plus de temps avec leurs enfants. Les résultats ont également montré que les hommes se disaient plus satisfaits de leur vie, y compris de leur vie sexuelle, lorsqu'ils pouvaient s'occuper de leurs enfants comme ils le souhaitaient.
Qu'est-ce qui les freine ? Les pères s'inquiètent de l'opinion publique s'ils privilégient leurs enfants à leur travail, et ils craignent que leurs revenus, et ceux de leur famille, pâtissent d'un congé parental. De plus, deux stéréotypes traditionnels demeurent des obstacles importants : l'idée que les hommes devraient être les principaux soutiens de famille et que les femmes devraient être les principales responsables des enfants.
Trop peu d’entreprises offrent des congés payés aux pères, et même lorsqu’elles le font, trop peu de pères prennent leur congé complet parce qu’ils s’inquiètent de ce que les autres pensent d’eux, en particulier au travail.
Additional key insights:
- Women and men say that caring for their children matters to them equally and that they would go to the same lengths to have time with their children.
- Fathers are more likely to take paternity leave if their workplaces offer flexible working arrangements, if their own parents support them in taking it, and if they have more control over their own work lives.
- Men and women underestimate their managers’ support for paternity leave.
- Men and women doubt the benefits of extended parental leave for fathers, especially those benefits that are less intuitive.
- Both men and women tend to believe they are better at their traditional roles than the other gender, but equal to the other gender in non-traditional roles.
- Both fathers and mothers say they face challenges to being fully involved parents due to pressure at work, but fathers perceive even greater barriers.
The study confirms that men want to be involved caregivers. Outdated social norms and a lack of support from workplaces, as well as other social touch points, are all too often barriers to men’s equitable participation in care work. Supporting fathers in accessing paternity leave will help men be the parents they want to be and will contribute to advancing gender equality both in the home and in society more broadly, further empowering women across different domains of their lives.
Le Aider les papas à prendre soin de leurs proches report is available online ici.
View photos from the Congressional Briefing here:
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