Paternity Leave

Improved Essays
Paternal leave is for both men and women and paternity leave is gender specific, to men (Huerta, Adema, Baxter, Han, Lausten, Lee, and Waldfogel, 2013). Paternity leave is starting to become more popular in European countries (Ruhm, Waldfogel, 2011). There is evidence that fathers, who take leave, positively affect their children’s future (Zhelyazkova, 2013). Forty four percent of men in the United States took leave (Family Values Work). FMLA or the Family and Medical Leave act protects family leave (Jorgensen, Appelbaum, 2014). However, businesses can offer more than just the FMLA. It is useful to determine whether paternity leave does positively benefit the child. There are many variables that effect paternity leave and the infant’s benefit. There are three broad categories: family characteristics, child …show more content…
The majority of the time, fathers take leave before the infant turns a year old (Cools, Fiva, and Kirkeboen, 2011).
If there were fertility issues or complications at birth, born prematurely, or other health issues, then there is more reason for the father to spend time with the child (Riley, Freene, Halle, Menstrel, and Moore, 2001). Huerta, Adema, Baxter, Han, Lausten, Lee, and Waldfogel (2013) also found that the health of the child played a role in the amount of time spent.
According to Cools, Fiva, and Kirkeboen (2011), the gender of the child plays an important role in how much involvement he/she sees from their father. Dads are found to be more actively involved in their sons’ life. Even though activity with a daughter has a greater effect than that with a son.
The higher the parent’s education, the more the child benefits when the parent takes paternity leave (Cools, Fiva, and Kirkeboen, 2011). However, men with higher educations tend to take less paternity leave (Rege, Solli,

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Another problem businesses have with extending maternity leave is the fact some employees never return from maternity leave at all. This can be particularly saddening if the employee was well-liked, but other employees wait until the minute to notify their supervisors they will not be returning. At that point, the temporary employee has already been given their last day and the employer must begin the whole recruitment process over again. Many employers also become frustrated with women who come back from leave and expect the same pay and level of authority, but also the flexibility to work fewer hours and to leave early for soccer games and ballet recitals. Some employers have even admitted that there is a temptation to avoid hiring young…

    • 477 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In her article she wrote, “the number of stay-at-home fathers has nearly tripled in the last 20 years – to a meager 214,000. One census study showed that among men married working women with children under four, 20 percent of fathers served as the caretakers.”. That quote alone shows the importance of why boys should take…

    • 349 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    I recently read a magazine article entitled A Modern Father’s Dilemma by Glen Martin. It describes the challenges that men face when they do everything they can to help raise a child and their efforts are seen as subpar. The article provided a very interesting perspective that we have grazed over but not looked at in-depth in class. The article emphasizes the plight of the father who craves to be the involved and caregiving dad but cannot properly execute. The article references that more and more men want to be involved in more meaningful ways in their kid’s lives and want to help take pressure off of their wives.…

    • 216 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mandatory Parental Leave

    • 1602 Words
    • 7 Pages

    When firms use resources to give specialized skills to an employee, it is often done with the assumption that the firm will make a full return on their investment. However, in the case of mothers who do not return to work due to the absence of statutory leave, they lose this investment completely. With the presence of statutory leave, parents will be able to return to their employer after spending time with their child, continue to develop, and continue to recoup the investment that their employer put into them. A study on the California paid leave policy affirms this-- mothers who took advantage of the policy were more likely to return to work. Ultimately, this means that the disincentive to hire employees (women), due to their ability to have children may…

    • 1602 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the article “Standing Up for the Rights of New Fathers,” author Tara Siegel Bernard is writing about the controversial discussion of equal rights between genders, especially about paid paternity leave. Bernard is a personal finance reporter for The New York Times and has worked as a news editor for Consumer News and Business Channel (211). The author begins the article by introducing a father that is concerned about the amount of paternity leave that is available to him from his employer. After examining the father’s situation, the writer examines paternity leaves from other American employers, reviews the policies between mothers, biological fathers, and adoptive fathers, and questions whether or not the policies are discriminatory (Bernard…

    • 1124 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Additionally, women are more likely to take unpaid leave than men. Women are also more likely to be the primary caretaker at home as opposed to men. This disparate impact is becoming especially concerning in current times where the rate of female employment and female-headed households are increasing. Additionally, these requirements are essentially barring a group of individuals from utilizing the FMLA, when they need it the…

    • 1327 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Paid maternity leave has become a standard benefit in many countries throughout the world; however, the United States is the only advanced economy that does not mandate maternity leave for its workers. Not only does the United States not mandate maternity leave – it also does not pay for it. Maternity leave is very important for the child, for the family, and for the economy. With women entering the workforce, they must be able to support themselves and their child(ren) while they are taking care of their new-borns. Without mandated and paid maternity leave, the mother’s may choose not to bear a child – which affects the economy and the population, and it will affect the relationship between the mothers, children, and the family as a whole.…

    • 159 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Furthermore, in an article What It Means to Be a Daddy by Jennifer Hamer points out several “ideals” that define being a father. For example, the amount of time a father spends with their children was less important than the quality of care, yet most fathers in the study did not connect with this view. Many felt the need to be involved by attempting to manage various responsibilities when the mothers were not able, and they stepped into these roles continuing care from infancy to adolescent. They picked up their children after school, listened to their concerns, counseled them when it was required (Hamer, 2001). Continuing, it stresses a difference between fathers and daddies, those who are “just fathers”, and those who are “daddies”.…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The FMLA shows a great inclusiveness of who the medical leave benefit applies to. It extends not just to the spouse of the employee, including same-sex spouse, but also to the children and the parents. This extension of the benefit coverages provides a concept in the U.S that an employee also have family members to take care of and the FMLA ensures that the employees have this rights to take care of their family members as much as themselves. Moreover, the act also provide a clear provision of pregnancy and birth giving. Under Leave Entitlement, one of the reasons for leaving is that “The birth of a son or daughter or placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care…”…

    • 1374 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Paid Parental Leave Essay

    • 555 Words
    • 3 Pages

    There is a strong link between health and paid parental leave. This leave allows mothers or fathers to spend time with infants, which leads to better health for both the child and the parent. During pregnancy and the early months after birth the brain is developing at its quickest speed (Avendano, Berkman, Brugiavini, & Pasini, 2015). While genetics plays a significant role in development, environment is also a crucial factor. The parents of children influence experiences and environmental settings of children at such a young age.…

    • 555 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Fatherless Home

    • 878 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Fatherless Homes in the United States of America According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over one-third of the children in America are growing up without their biological dad. Interestingly in the past 50 years the percentage of babies being born to unwedded mothers has jumped from 5 to 40 percent (Stuart, 2011, p.1). Sociologists have named father absence one of the most worrisome and issue related trends rising in today’s America. Since Barack Obama’s presidency he has made a special imploration to fathers asking them to take initiative in their children’s lives.…

    • 878 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Gender Pay Gap

    • 888 Words
    • 4 Pages

    When trying to rationalize that women are mothers and need to raise children and take a pregnancy leave, this affects their qualifications for a job (Thomas, S. R. 2010). It is perceived more often than not as a liability being a woman in the work place. Men don't have the same expectations when it comes to a family, their expectations are being the providers which in turn means they make their work/jobs a priority in most cases not the family life. To combat these preconceived notions and gendered discrimination in the workforce the U.S. government has passed legislation to help fight these types of discriminations. Finding a healthy balance between the two and not setting any limitations is the first step to creating a smaller gender pay gap or even eliminating…

    • 888 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Paid Parental Leave

    • 1932 Words
    • 8 Pages

    It is important for parents to be able to care for their newborns. Unfortunately, parents and children in the United States are being deprived of the essential benefits paid parental leave can provide. In the 21st century most parents work. The reality is most children live in a household with a single parent or two working parents. With all the evidence, it’s surprising how behind the United States is on this matter.…

    • 1932 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Lowe's Business Analysis

    • 182 Words
    • 1 Pages

    The biggest compensation and benefits issue at Lowe’s stems from the fact that North Carolina is an ‘Employment at will’ state. That means Lowe’s can terminate an employee without notice, for any reason, or for no reason. The only requirement is that the termination should not violate federal or state laws (Guerin, 2015). The company is not required to offer severance payments to terminated or laid off employees or assist them in finding alternative employment. Once an employees is terminated it is up to the employee to seek unemployment benefits from the state.…

    • 182 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Only 8% of workers in private sectors benefit from paid leave” (Sylvia Guendelman 1). If you work, you should be able to take time off to take care of a newborn, both mothers and fathers. Not having paid leave makes people lead towards not being able to take time off, especially for men. All states need to have paid leave for women and men who have just had a child. If parents take time off and spend it with their child, it creates a stable home environment for the baby.…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays