Paternity leave could be articulated as the keystone of an imaginary men’s rights movement. But ultimately, the option for men to take time off for their newborns is meant to benefit women. However, the issue is a lot more complex than providing guaranteed, paid leave for both parents.
It is not just about equality. In many instances, maternity leave has been used as an instrument to push women in and out of the work force. Such instances have had major economic consequences and also overemphasizes the idea that childcare is a woman’s natural responsibility.
The rise in paternity leave gives women a small window to dissolve the “second shift” of motherhood, but it must be implemented strategically. Women do not want to give men a gold star for taking a week of obligatory leave when women are constantly categorized as the ultimate caretaker. However, researchers have been combining economics with feminist studies to bring us to where we need to be. Paid, required and extended paternity leave opportunities not only allow childcare to be distributed fairly, but also ensures women have the opportunity, space and time to accomplish their career goals.
From the male perspective, the first stake in the paternity leave movement was at the hands of Gary Ackerman. Gary was a teacher with a ten month old daughter in 1969 and requested unpaid leave. He was denied by the superintendent of the Board of Education after they insisted that the leave policies only applied to female teachers. Consequently, Gary and his wife filed for discrimination against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. They believed that the female-only rule forces women to be child rearers and housekeepers, inhibiting couples from breaking up responsibility.
While the couple was on par with this analysis, it ignores the structural economic disadvantage of motherhood. In 1973, Gary’s triumphant push for male paternity leave caused the EEOC to reword its bylaws by removing the pronoun “her,” thus overshadowing how motherhood financially affects women’s career pursuits.
The laws concerning parental leave in the United States are found in the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. This national act must offer 12 weeks of unpaid leave to qualified mothers and fathers, but there is no federal law that requires paid leave. Some states and employers offer paid leave outside the Family and Medical Leave Act.
According to a 2014 study by the International Labor Organization, the U.S. and Papua New Guinea are some of the only countries who do not legally enforce paid maternity leave. California became the first state to promise six weeks of paid leave for mothers and fathers in 2002. This operation is paid by eligible workers through a small payroll tax. This shift inspired Rhode Island and New Jersey to grant four and six paid weeks. While states and countries are inspiring one another to make change, is this change enough? Without a national legal enforcement of paternity leave in the U.S., the weight of motherhood is swept under the rug.
What is interesting is how much leave wealthy companies are giving to fathers. It is a stretch to say this issue has become trendy among men, but the movement is backed by cultural idols of masculinity. This leads to a formalization of paternal masculinity, destigmatizing the feminine association with care taking. However, the means in which this is achieved must be called into question.
For example, Major League Baseball is watched and enjoyed disproportionately by men. It solidifies the relationship between masculinity and strength, creating a vulnerable environment for the credentials of manhood. The MLB partnered with Dove to create Big League Dads, a pro-fatherhood campaign, after giving players three days paternity leave. Other companies in Silicon valley such as Reddit and Facebook have offered 17 weeks leave. However, those without the socioeconomic privilege of working for Facebook have little to no access to extra time off.
Additionally, the leave taken by wealthy fathers who have the choice, is often much shorter than the mother’s. This could be due to how maternity leave was created for medical reasons; studies have shown that maternity leave results in longer breast feeding and reduces infant mortality rates.
However, these things could be accomplished with both parents present. The problem with women taking longer maternity leaves instead of having both parents present is the way it affects the future. When women are doing the majority of the child care, a routine is established. Consequently, after the baby has grown up, the mother still continues to do most of the child work.
The amount of labor expected of mothers was coined as the “second shift” by sociologist Arlie Hochschild. The second shift puts women in a place where they must choose between being a mother or being a professional in the work force. According to The Atlantic, a study in 2007 showed that 60 percent of working women who quit their jobs did so because of their partner’s lack of assistance with child care.
The existence of paternity leave allows the fathers to establish their routine in the care of the family early on. When a father provides for their child in the first stages of development, they are more likely to be a bigger part of household childcare in the future. In some European countries, women were sometimes given a year plus paid leave. This was thought to be progressive as it helped the well being of the child.
However, employers often saw women as an economic threat because of the extended leaves. Therefore, women were less likely to be promoted or to obtain jobs with heavy responsibility. Now, these countries are somewhat forced to instate paternity leave to correct where they have situated women economically.
The biggest success of paternity leave is that it makes men feel stigmatized if they do not take the offered leave. Prior to paid leave for fathers, men might have felt uncomfortable taking time off because they were accustomed to women doing most of the child care. Now that major corporations and organizations like Reddit are supporting masculine fatherhood, it feels “normal” for men. Leave is also de-stigmatized when they are guaranteed paid time off, because they feel as if they are missing something if they do not take leave. This is apparent in Quebec’s statistics of fathers taking leave rising from 10-80 percent with guaranteed pay. Because paternity leave intervenes at such a critical point in family growth, women can expect the pressure of choosing between work and family to decrease.
