Some new fathers fear taking parental leave

Some new fathers fear taking parental leave – here’s why

Fifty-three per cent of New Zealanders believe that new fathers don’t take the full parental leave they are entitled to because of fear they will be viewed as less committed to their job.

In the survey by recruiting experts Hays, 33% said parental leave is viewed as the right and responsibility of the mother, while 14% say it’s due to an adverse impact on their finances.

Meanwhile, just 22% said their organisation offers parental leave for male employees on equal terms to female employees. The majority said men in their organisation rarely take (30%) or only take some (37%) of the parental leave they’re entitled to.

Jason Walker, Managing Director of Hays in New Zealand says, “To help make real and lasting gender equality progress, we need to talk in terms of ‘family-friendly’ rather than ‘women-friendly’ policies and offer and accept the decision of men to work flexibly and take an equal amount of paternity leave without making assumptions about their career motivations or applying unconscious or otherwise career consequences.

“While there are many examples of men in New Zealand who are taking on the primary caring role, a stigma remains. To help reduce this, employers can encourage male employees to take parental leave.”

Last year Mark Zuckerberg, who made sure Facebook’s parental leave policy covered both women and men, took two months of parental leave after his daughter was born.

173 New Zealanders completed the survey, of whom 53% were female and 47% were male.

Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.

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