Paternity leave: Representations and expectations
The survey, conducted by the Chair in 2022, attempts to identify why individuals do or do not take advantage of their right to paternity leave. The study focuses on the reasons for taking or not taking paternity leave but also looks at the expectations men and women have towards improving this policy at both the company and societal levels.
INTRODUCTION
Paternity leave was introduced in France twenty years ago and extended a year ago but it has not been closely examined recently.
The EDHEC Diversity and Inclusion Chair wanted to delve deeper into this topic and carried out a survey of over 780 people.
While parenthood holds little influence over men’s careers, it often slows women’s professional advancement and can result in a loss of salary. Paternity leave appears to be an important lever for equality between men and women on both family and professional levels.
The last national survey on paternity leave in France was conducted in 2012 and no follow-up study took place after its extension in July 2021. The Chair is conducting a review of the current situation surrounding paternity leave in order to understand why fathers use or don’t use this benefit and to explore its expectations and obstacles.
STATE-OF-ART
PARENTHOOD AND CAREER: DIFFERENT CONSEQUENCES FOR MEN AND WOMEN
Career and wage gaps between men and women grow with the arrival of children.
Mothers are less frequently employed:
- A mother is less frequently employed than a woman without children even though she has the same attributes. A father is more often employed than a man without children (Insee, 2022).
- In essence, women have to adjust their careers to the constraints of family life, especially with young children:
- Mothers are more frequently interrupted at work and this frequency increases with the number of children (Insee, 2022)
"The employment rate of women aged 25 to 49 varies according to the number and age of their children, which is hardly the case for men. In 2021, the employment rate of women aged 25-49 with three or more children living with them, at least one of whom is under 3 years old, is 50.5%, compared with 92.3% for men of the same age and in the same family situation" (Insee, 2022, p. 122)
- 79% of part-time roles are filled by women (Insee, 2022)
Mothers have lower wages:
- Mothers earn 11% less than fathers at age 25, 25% less at age 45, while the wage gap between men and women without children remains around 7% at all ages (Coudin et al., 2019). This increase in the wage gap is explained by:
- the drop in mothers' wages after the birth of a child (-200€ net/month on average, Insee 2022)
- differences in choice of employers and/or professional opportunities (mobility, promotions, etc.) between mothers and fathers over the course of their careers. For example, changing employers, which is an important vector of career progression and therefore of salary progression, is less frequent for women than for men between two years before and ten years after the birth of their children (Coudin et al., 2019)
- ->the wage gap linked to motherhood increases in the years following the birth of children.
Why do these differences exist between men and women?
- Parenthood entails both responsibilities and constraints.
- These two elements tend to have a different impact on the employment of mothers and fathers:
- For the father, his professional network will view him as assuming responsibility: he may then be seen as a person who can be given more responsibility in his work, which will have a positive impact on his career. Some researchers speak of a « fatherhood bonus » (Hodges & Budig, 2010 ; Nautet & Piton, 2021 ; Périvier, 2017).
- For the mother, on the other hand, her company will see more of the constraints: she may then be perceived as unreliable, more often absent, and less attached to her career progression as she has to concentrate on something other than her work. This is known as « the motherhood penalty » (Budig & England, 2001 ; Périvier, 2017).
- This difference in the perception of parenthood is linked to persistent gender stereotypes, which are defined by the United Nations as " a generalized view or prejudice about the attributes or characteristics that women and men possess or should possess and the roles they play or should play ". Gender stereotypes can also be defined as " the belief that certain abilities or personality traits specific to boys [men] on the one hand, and girls [women] on the other, are present from birth " (Le Bohec & Lebon, 2021, p. 14)
- These stereotypes influence our behaviours and increase the likelihood that women will take care of children and household chores: according to researchers, in 2010, women did 71% of the domestic work (cleaning, cooking, laundry) and 65% of the parental work (Champagne et al., 2015).
- In this study carried out for the INSEE journal Economie et Statistique, domestic work corresponds to " the sum of time spent on cooking, washing up, cleaning, laundry, shopping and various purchases, administrative tasks, and so-called semi-leisure activities (DIY, gardening, pet care, for example " (p.212) while parental work corresponds to " activities explicitly declared as being devoted to children; it includes care, homework help, leisure and social activities and transport. The time spent organising the children's time and mentally managing daily life, which cannot be quantified, is not taken into account » (p. 212)
How can we move towards greater equality?
- In order to achieve greater equality between men and women, we must focus on both the professional sphere (promoting employment and career development for women) and the family sphere (promoting a better balance of family responsibilities within the couple) (Périvier, 2017).
- Taking paternity leave and extending its duration represents one solution because:
- it allows the'risk of parenthood' to be borne by both men and women: a rebalancing of the duration of leave for mothers and fathers would make it possible to move from a 'maternity risk' that weighs on all working women, to a 'parenthood risk' that would weigh on all parents, but which would have the merit of no longer being gendered (Périvier, 2017);
- it promotes a better division of chores and responsibilities within the couple (Legendre et al., 2016 ; Pailhé et al., 2018) ;
- it responds to a social demand, both from men and women: 63% of 18–24-year-olds were in favour of extending paternity leave in 2016 (Antunez & Buisson, 2019).
Expected benefits of paternity leave
A better division of parental chores and responsibilities within the couple:
- When fathers have taken paternity leave, the distribution of parental chores is more equal among several types of parenting chores (changing nappies, putting the child to bed, etc.), especially when it is the first child;
- paternity leave therefore appears as a period of learning parental skills.
- Even short paternity leave leads to changes in behaviour in private life, which seem to be sustained over time ;
- However, paternity leave does not seem to have an impact on the distribution of domestic chores (doing the laundry, cooking, etc.).
Potentially improved physical, mental and social well-being - for parents and children:
- Reduces negative psychological consequences for the parents and the child (stress, post-partum depression, behavioural and emotional problems of the child, etc.);
- Benefits the child's development by creating a lasting bond with the father;
- Reduces tensions within the couple;
- Lowered impact on (temporary) loss of social life;
- Fewer health problems or physical exhaustion for parents and child.
A study on paternity leave
Despite the expected positive outcomes:
The usage rate of paternity leave is 70% in France (little change since 2004) (Legendre et al., 2016).
Paternity leave allows some family chores to be shared, but not all family or domestic chores (Pailhé et al., 2018).
The last survey - by Drees - on paternity leave in France dates back to 2012 (Legendre et al., 2016).
No study has been conducted in France since paternity leave was extended in July 2021.
Given this fact, we propose a survey on paternity leave to understand:
- the deciding factors and perceptions associated with the use of this benefit
- the expectations of men and women
METHODOLOGY AND SAMPLED POPULATION
A quantitative survey conducted by the EDHEC Diversity and Inclusion Chair, from 25 April to 31 May 2022, on social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) and in partner company networks.
4 themes:
The use of paternity leave
Representations of the father's role and social norms related to fatherhood
Perception of inclusion, equality and work-family balance in the company
Expectations linked to paternity leave
A specific sample
- It’s important to understand that these study results are based on a specific sample.
- Due to the way the survey was disseminated (social networks and company networks), the sample is not representative of the French population:
- Men are under-represented (32 % of responses)
- Managers (75 % of the total), highly educated people (77% of respondents have 5 years of higher education or more) and people in employment (92% of the total) are over-represented
- The take-aways will therefore mainly concern the population of employed professionals.
OUR RESULTS
Use of paternity leave has increased since its duration was extended
Out of the 249 men who responded to our study:
191
have children
143
have taken paternity leave at least once
Different usage rates depending on the date:
69.8%
of fathers who had a child before 1 July 2021 took paternity leave
94.3%
of fathers who had a child after 1 July 2021 took paternity leave
The use of paternity leave therefore seems to have increased since its extension in July 2021
Longer paternity leave has not affected working hours afterwards
Most paternity leave is taken immediately after the birth of the child: 76% of fathers who took their paternity leave after 1 July 2021 took it at the same time as their partner's maternity leave.
84% of fathers who took paternity leave after 1 July 2021 took it in its entirety (25 days). There are differences according to age-the younger the father, the longer the duration of paternity leave.
Following paternity leave, only 6% of fathers changed their working hours or took further parental leave (compared to 50% of women according to INSEE, Govillot, 2013).
Age and income are the main factors in paternity leave use.
Certain personal circumstances result in a lower degree of paternity leave usage:
Age
The older they are, the less paternity leave men use (this same result is found in the work of Drees (Legendre et al., 2016)). This is especially the case for those aged 50 and over.
Explaining factors:
- Paternity leave has only existed in France for 20 years – some of the respondents have not had access to this leave
- Young fathers are more involved in raising their children (Champagne et al., 2015).
Income
The higher their income, the less likely men are to take paternity leave (especially above €4,238 of monthly income).
Explaining factors:
- Income is correlated with age. Besides income, age is the most important factor.
- Social security payments may not compensate for higher earners’ total income, which may lead to a loss of income and so disincentivize taking paternity leave..
- Income is correlated with a high level of responsibility and workload, which is an obstacle to taking paternity leave.
Taking care of the baby is the main reason for taking paternity leave
- The top five reasons for taking paternity leave are:
- Taking care of the baby, for 91.7% of fathers
- Spending time with their partner (70.7%)
- Taking care of domestic tasks (cleaning, cooking, shopping, etc.) (70.7%)
- Looking after other children (48.1%)
- Taking care of administrative tasks (31.6%)
THE 4 MAIN REASONS FOR NOT TAKING PATERNITY LEAVE, ACCORDING TO FATHERS
Fathers do not take paternity leave for a variety of reasons and change depending on their employment situation at the time of their child's birth.
There are four main reasons:
- 34.5% of fathers say they are not aware of this benefit or have not been entitled to it, even though their child was born after paternity leave was established in France
- 9% of fathers who did not take paternity leave say it was because they were not employed at the time of the birth, even though paternity leave can be taken during a period of unemployment
- 5% say that their employer did not allow them to take paternity leave, even though companies cannot deny this benefit
- 28% of fathers who did not take paternity leave reported that they had too heavy a workload
- 7% of respondents say their job situation that was too precarious
- 16% of fathers say they could not risk having less income.
- These beliefs echo gender stereotypes:
- &0% of fathers who did not take paternity leave think that paternity leave is not necessary or that it is the mother's responsibility to care for a newborn
- 9% say they did not take paternity leave because the mother was not employed at the time of the birth. Hidden here, underneath the appearance of a lack of need, is the question of the father's role
The weight of social norms and representations on the decision to use paternity leave
Analysis of the role of gender stereotypes in the use of paternity leave.
- In order to better understand the role of gender stereotypes in the use of paternity leave, we analysed the influence of 5 factors:
- Social norms associated with paternity leave
- The view of the father's role
- The perception of gender equality in the company
- The perception of inclusion in the company
- The culture of work-family balance in the company
- Of these five factors studied, three are strongly related to the use of paternity leave: social norms, one's own view of the father's role and one's perception of gender equality in one's company
The significance of social norms in the use of paternity leave
- Social norms positively influence the use of paternity leave,, all other things being equal.
- More precisely, it is the perception of these norms that plays a role → The more we think that our partner, friends or colleagues would approve of our decision to take paternity leave, the more likely we are to use it. And vice versa.
- Beyond the opinion of acquaintances, it is particularly male friends' bahaviour that influences decisions on paternity leave. Use of paternity leave is higher among men who think that "the majority of [their] male friends who are fathers take paternity leave"..
The view of the father's role: a significant influence on the use of paternity leave
- The view a man has of family roles also influences the use of paternity leave, all other things being equal.
- There are two opposing views of the father's role:
A traditional, gendered view: the father is responsible for discipline, has to provide for his family, and has less natural ability to provide childcare than the mother.
A less traditional, less gendered view: the father who spends as much time with his children as the mother, who is as involved in caring for them as he is in playing with them.
- A man with a more traditional view of the father's role is less to use paternity leave. For example, fathers who believe that "mothers are naturally more sensitive than fathers when caring for babies" make less use of paternity leave than other men.
The perception of gender equality in the father's company is a significant influence on the use of paternity leave
- The perception of gender equality in the father’s company negatively influences the use of paternity leave, all other things being equal → The more men find their company to be egalitarian, the less they use paternity leave.
- This result may seem counterintuitive at first glance. There are two possible explanations:
- Perceiving one's company as egalitarian does not necessarily mean that it is. In general, men are more likely than women to consider their company to be egalitarian. In fact, some men do not see the inequalities that women experience, either because they do not experience them or because they deny them.
- Moreover, our study reveals that the men who perceive their company as egalitarian are also those who have a more traditional view of the father's role. These men also hold less demanding standards of gender equality (which may lead them to overestimate it). They do not believe that their role is to take care of a newborn child.
→ Men who have a more egalitarian view of their companies tend to use paternity leave less because they are also the ones who have a more traditional view of parenting roles.
Paternity leave is a means of promoting professional equality between men and women
80% of respondents say that paternity leave contributes to gender equality at work:
- Women are more likely to think so than men (7-point difference)
- Young respondents are more likely than older respondents to think so (15-point difference)
Women consider paternity leave to be a medium of professional equality more than men. They are more likely to expect a better balance of risk in parenthood and a mentality change on family issues within companies.
In fact, 16% of respondents stressed that paternity leave as it stands is insufficient to achieve gender equality.
On the other hand,men tend to believe that paternity leave is not an essential tool for gender equality.
Paternity leave has a triple impact on family, work and society
Paternity leave impacts family life, professional life, and society as a whole.
Involving the father in household chores
"It ensures that men do not feel any less concerned about the care of their baby after the birth of the child”.
Male, manager, 56 years old
Empowering fathers and enabling them to take responsibility
“It's an immersion in what caring for a child really means; for the father to be there for the long term, more autonomously and less in a supporting role".
Female, manager, 33 years old
Enabling the father to be with his child
“Parents need to be able to spend time with their child, especially in the first months”.
Male, middle management, 33 years old
Levelling out the risks
“This limits discrimination against women in recruitment. Considering those with equal skills, some employers recruit men on the basis that they will not take leave if they have children”.
Male, manager, 34 years old
Changing mindsets
“Making baby and family issues a male concern is the only way for them to be addressed in the company and for the overall mentality of employers to change regarding the subject of family life, as men still have the majority of power in the company”.
Female, manager, 38 years old
Women with more peace of mind
"Women can go back to work with peace of mind knowing that their child will be looked after by the father".»
Female, manager, 37 years old
Changing mindsets
"It should contribute, through experience, to changing women's and men's representations of parenthood".
Female, manager, 56 years old
Giving the same rights
"It moves us towards having the same rights and obligations for men and women".
Female, employee, 29 years old
What adjustments do men and women want?
Expected adjustments to paternity leave
- Paternity leave needs to be strengthened according to nearly 90% of the respondents. First priority:
- 36% are in favour offully compulsory paternity leave
- 33% are in favour of extending the duration of paternity leave
- 16% expect better financial compensation
- Women are more in favour of the first two measures (more than 5 points difference) and men are more in favour of the third (2 points difference).
- Beyond these measures, which are out of companies’ hands, the respondents to our survey expressed real expectations of their company:
- Changing the company culture to normalise the use of paternity leave and fathers' involvement at home → e.g., communicating about paternity leave (42 responses)
- Putting in place incentives → e.g., offering additional pay or salary continuation (46 responses)
- Better organisation within the team and the company to facilitate paternity leave → e.g., anticipating the employee's absence (50 responses)
Training managers in parenthood issues.
MALE, MANAGER, 49 YEARS OLD
An additional salary because when the mother is on maternity leave, if the father takes paternity leave, there's a big drop in income which is not sustainable.
FEMALE, MANAGER, 39 YEARS OLD
In terms of organisational needs: create a supportive framework that makes future parents feel comfortable informing the company of the pregnancy from the beginning.
FEMALE, MANAGER, 26 YEARS OLD
Enhance the perceived value of paternity leave by inviting fathers who have taken it to talk about it.
FEMALE, MANAGER, 53 YEARS OLD
Communicate widely about paternity leave and encourage fathers to take it.
FEMALE, MANAGER, 48 YEARS OLD
Interviews when leaving for and returning from maternity and paternity leave in order to organise work hours with the employee and to respond as best as possible to his or her concerns. This will guarantee high quality work-life balance.
FEMALE, MANAGER, 32 YEARS OLD
Corporate culture (160 responses)
- Communicating about paternity leave (42)
- Promoting/Valuing paternity leave (15)
- Informing about rights (15)
- Raising awareness / Training managers (11)
- Management role model (10)
- Ensuring no negative impact on career (7)
- Accepting paternity leave as normal (6)
- Reducing stigma (6)
- Supporting new fathers/parents (4)
- Having fathers attest (role model) (4)
- Workshops/seminars on parenting (4)
- Promoting work-life balance (4)
- …
Incentives (86 responses)
- Offering additional / continued salary (46)
- Encouraging employees to take leave (14)
- Sharing parental leave between the two parents (7)
- Offering it systematically to new parents (4)
- Offering extra days (4)
- Offering a bonus/salary increase (4)
- Proposing divided paternity leave (4)
- …
Organisation within the company (80 resposes)
- Anticipating the employee's absence (50)
- Declaring paternity leave in advance (7)
- Setting up HR support (interviews, etc.) (6)
- Offering new work arrangements for fathers (working from home, new working hours, etc.) (4)
- Organising the father's return to the company (4)
- …
Coercive measures (91 responses)
- Make it compulsory (44)
- Make paternity leave equal to maternity leave (20)
- Extend it (18)
- …
CONCLUSION
The study reveals encouraging results regarding paternity leave, its use, and the expectations surrounding it among French men and women. On the one hand, it seems that the paternity leave usage rate has increased since its duration was extended in July 2021, rising from 70% to 94%. On the other hand, the younger generations seem more inclined to use this benefit, age and income being the main variables in the use of paternity leave. However, there was no ‘downstream effect’ following paternity leave: 16% of fathers took less than 25 days and only 6% changed their working hours or took parental leave beyond their paternity leave. Yet the extent to which paternity leave has long term effects depends on the length of leave fathers take (Pailhé et al., 2018).
The decision to take paternity leave is mainly influenced by three of the five factors tested through this survey. They are: 1) social norms; 2) the view of the father's role; and 3) the perception of gender equality in the workplace.
There are also strong expectations about paternity leave: 80% of respondents say paternity leave is a means to achieve professional equality between men and women and 90% of individuals expect this leave to be strengthened.
Three main changes are expected in order to promote paternity leave:
- Changing the social norms associated with paternity leave, particularly through changes in the corporate culture (awareness campaigns, incentives, HR support, etc.)
- Addressing men’s motivations and the obstacles they face to take this leave.
- Communicating about paternity leave at the corporate and national levels and addressing the stereotypes associated with it in order to reduce its stigma and normalise fathers using this leave.
Other public and private policies could make it possible to remove obstacles facing paternity leave. These policies may include financial compensation that will limit potential loss of salary, combatting lack of knowledge about paternal rights, and better anticipating the employee's absence, since the workload is one of the main obstacles to taking leave.
SYNOPSIS
Results show that the use of paternity leave is on rise . In the study, 94% of fathers who had a child after 1 July 2021 took paternity leave compared with only 70% of fathers before this date. In contrast, only 6% of fathers changed their working hours or took parental leave following their paternity leave.
In addition, the survey highlights four main reasons for not using paternity leave:lack of awareness of this leave; employment – specifically when workloads are deemed too heavy; the potential loss of income associated with this leave; and a traditional and gender-stereotyped view of the father's role.
On the other hand, there are three main factors that influence the use of paternity leave: social norms – particularly the way fathers think that friends and family would or would not approve the use of paternity leave; the view – whether more or less traditional – of the father's role; and the perception of gender equality in the company.
Furthermore,, almost 90% of respondents say paternity leave should be strengthened, in particular by making it compulsory to take this leave, extending its duration or providing better compensation. Finally, the study suggests development opportunities for organisations such as working on the company culture or anticipating the employee’s absence.
AUTHORS
About the Diversity & Inclusion Chair
The Diversity & Inclusion Chair was created in 2016. Since then, it has multiplied its approaches and actions to inspire, raise awareness and support individuals and organisations to cultivate inclusive and non-discriminatory behaviours and environments.
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