Exclusive: More fathers are taking paid parental leave, new study finds

Data: Paid Leave For All; Note: Due to data limitations, Oregon's data covers about 18 months ending in January 2025; Chart: Axios VisualsMore men are taking paid paternity leave in states that have the benefit, per a study out Saturday shared exclusively with Axios.Why it matters: Taking time off to bond with a newborn or newly adopted child has all kinds of upsides, not just for fathers and their families, but for women in the workplace, too.Men, women and children all see positive health impacts — including reduced infant mortality rates, research finds.How it works: Though there is no federal paid leave, 13 states and Washington, D.C., have policies.They're typically funded by payroll taxes, and pay out a certain portion of a worker's income, giving parents about 12 weeks of "bonding" leave.In most states, workers have the right to take time off, and many states offer job protection so you can't be fired while away.By the numbers: Fathers and mothers are coming close to parity, finds the report from advocacy group Paid Leave for All.The study looked at the share of men and women taking advantage of these policies in the 10 states where they are already up and running, including in Washington, Colorado and Massachusetts. (Some states have laws on the books, but the programs aren't yet paying benefits.)They found that men took, or applied for, at least 40% of the leave taken in eight of ten states over the last full year for which data was available. In D.C., men took 35% of leaves and in New Jersey it's 30%.Zoom in: The newer programs are seeing much more equitable take-up.In Colorado, where leave was enacted in 2024, fathers make up half of new parents taking the time off. In Washington state, established in 2020, it's more than half.Back when California became the first state to enact paid parental leave in 2005, men comprised just 18% of those who used the benefit. Now it's 44%. New Jersey, established in 2010, has gone from 11% to 30%.The big picture: "A thing that the United States actually does well when it comes to paid leave is that all state programs' bonding leave are fully gender equal," says Molly Weston Williamson, who wrote the report.Each parent who works is entitled to the leave; there's no limitation for those who aren't so-called "primary" parents.Plus, states in recent years have paid more attention to making these policies more accessible in ways that have benefited men. Some of the earliest states to enact leave found that if wage replacement rates were too low, fathers were far less likely to use the benefit.Newer programs have higher rates and they're structured so that lower-income workers get a higher percentage of wages covered, typically about 85%. Caveat: Women who give birth are often entitled to separate medical leave. That's not part of this data.A few mothers may take only medical leave after childbirth and forgo bonding time off. That's a small cohort, says Williamson.Between the lines: Certainly there are those who believe fathers shouldn't take paternity leave — former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was mocked by conservatives for doing it. And lately there's been increasing attention paid to those who long for more traditional modes of parenting, where dads stayed at work while moms remained home.The study counters that narrative.The bottom line: Happy father's day.

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