Paternity Leave and HR
Paternity Leave and HR
Paternity Leave and HR
The number of women in the workforce has increased over the years, but gender
differences seen in businesses are much more than that. Despite steps in the right direction,
there are still persistent, deep-rooted gender roles that society has to work to overcome. The
important human resources issue for businesses for many reasons. First, there is a developing
social trend in family dynamics where more and more fathers want to stay home with their
children. Although paternity leave costs companies, as they are paying employees who are
not providing their skills on the job, studies have demonstrated that it produces happier and
more productive employees. However, work discrimination and gender biases are keeping
careers is simple: the mother will take off to raise the child, while the man is earning money
for the family. For women, raising a child and being with them during the first formative
weeks is the best way to begin motherhood. Meanwhile, society tells us that to be a good
father, one must be a good provider (Williams, 39). The “breadwinner ideal” is perpetuated
through media – depicting fathers coming home with a briefcase and suit, while the mother
has been cooking dinner for the children. Just this past baseball season,
Page 2
a Kansas City Royals player was criticized online because his baby was due during the
World Series, and he had notified his team that he would spend a few days visiting his wife
and newborn baby. When men take time off of work for their family and are criticized for it,
this is referred to as a non-conforming gender bias, since popular norms dictate that women
Current paternity leave practices reflect this gender bias. Although the Family and
Medical Leave Act of 1993 requires businesses with more than 50 employees to provide at
least 12 weeks of unpaid leave to take care of a newborn, it does not require paid leave. Only
14% of companies offer paid paternity leave. The bigger problem, however, is that in these
companies, only 12% of fathers took paid paternal leave when it was offered compared with
69% of mothers (Hall). Most men only take one or two weeks of leave, and according to a
Boston College study, 40% of men felt pressured to return to work earlier than required. This
is where sociologists and human resource experts develop the “flexibility stigma” – a
gendered phenomenon that puts men in the “heroic” activity of working long hours, and
women in the “caregiving” position of mothers at home. Many men cite this flexibility
stigma as their reasoning for not wanting to take paternity leave. They worry that upon
returning to work, they will have to face the consequences of this stigma – workplace
harassment, being less eligible for rewards, and losing job skills. In a study of managers in
public service, fathers who took paternity leave to care for their children suffered high rates
of masculinity harassment (i.e., being teased for lacking masculinity and possessing
These negative consequences are what need to change in the realm of paternity leave,
as there are many clear benefits of offering employees time off. When a father stays home
with his child, he is more likely to bond with the child and participate in vital childcare
responsibilities such as playing, feeding, and changing. In a long-term scope, children whose
fathers had taken time off showed higher learning abilities and performance in school
(Economist). Finally, paternity leave shows an ultimate benefit to the workforce, and is
actually worth more than it costs. Studies show that men who come back from paternity leave
are shown to be more productive and happier. Additionally, mothers of children whose
fathers took time off are more likely to return to the workforce sooner, since the
responsibility of childcare is being shared more equally. This lessens the risk that women
who are gone from work on maternity leave will lose skills and experience. Many companies
are choosing to change their paternity policies because gains from paternity leave programs
Offering quality paternity leave packages is a fairly new practice, and is more common in
some industries than others. Companies that offer new fathers paid leave, sometimes with
additional luxury benefits, are often found in technology, finance, and other wealthy white-
collar businesses. These companies offer a variety of options for fathers desiring to take leave
for their children, with leaves ranging from 4 weeks to Netflix’s “unlimited” leave. Google
offers child care centers on its campuses, gives out stipends for “baby bonding”, and offers
parents consultations to figure out day-care options. Facebook gives new parents $4,000 to
spend on the children, and the opportunity to work on projects from home. For these companies,
Page 4
and others with strong paternity leave options, this is a selling point for them when it comes to
recruiting. Studies have shown that businesses that present themselves as “family-friendly”
attract more applicants, and result in happier employees (Rudman, 323). Additionally, there are
other trends to explain the increase in the desire of paternity leave options. Today, there are
these scenarios, the typical gender norm of maternity leave does not provide care for the child.
Looking forward, it is important that businesses and their human resources departments
take paternity leave seriously. There are several key ways that human resources departments can
work to maximize the desired results of their paternity leave programs. First, employers and
managers need to realize that at the heart of it, denying paternity leave is a discrimination issue.
Sex is one of the “Big 5” rights protected by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This is a
federal law that prohibits discriminating based off of things such as sex. According to Title VII,
although employers do not have to offer as much leave for fathers since they are not doing the
physical work of giving birth, they do need to offer equal time for “bonding with the child”.
Paternity leave is a reasonable request for a company to accommodate and offer their employees.
However, the responsibility of an employer is more than simply having a paternity leave package
available for employees. The most reasonable way to maximize benefits of paternity leave is to
adapt to culture, and fight gender biases. Businesses need to work to make their paternity leave
packages available, well known and well explained to all employees. Additionally, by being
clear about the benefits of paternity leave, managers can help to fight the flexibility stigma in the
Page 5
workplace. Companies can also offer additional programs to make the transition easier and lessen
the likelihood of workplace bias. For example, some companies have instilled family mentor
programs that talk with fathers before their leaves about working options, what they expect from
their employer, and their transition back to work after they return. Managers can help create the
best paternity leave program by leading by example, as well. If employees see managers and top
employees take advantage of paternity leave, they see that they too are able to manage work and
family life. Managers additionally must make sure to adjust their expectations for those fathers
taking paternity leave versus other males in the company. It is unfair to compare their
performance to each other right after a father returns from paternity leave, for example. By
implementing these best practice suggestions into their human resources programs, companies
can ensure that paternity leave is a worthwhile, beneficial, and cost-efficient plan.
Works Cited
Chanen, Jill Schachner. “Daddy's Home: Paternity Leave Is Becoming a Viable Option for
New Fathers”. ABA Journal 86.11 (2000): 90–91. Web. 11 Nov 2015.
Coltrane, S., Miller, E. C., DeHaan, T. and Stewart, L., “Fathers and the Flexibility Stigma.
Journal of Social Issues, 69: (2013): 279–302.
Hall, Jason. "Why Men Don't Take Paternity Leave." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 14 June
2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2015
Miller, Claire Cain. "Paternity Leave: The Rewards and the Remaining Stigma." The New
York Times. The New York Times, 08 Nov. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
Otani, Akane. "The 10 U.S. Companies With the Best Paternity Leave
Benefits." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 30 Apr. 2015. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
Rudman, Laurie A., and Kris Mescher. "Penalizing Men Who Request a Family Leave: Is
Flexibility Stigma a Femininity Stigma?" Journal of Social Issues 69.2 (2013): 322-40.
Williams, Joan C., Mary Blair-Loy, and Jennifer L. Berdahl. "Cultural Schemas, Social
Class, and the Flexibility Stigma." Journal of Social Issues 69.2 (2013): 209-34.
The Flexibility Stigma and Paternity Leave Trends
Kate Moore
Management 4020
11/10/2015