A Look at Parental Leave

Men and Women Face Parental Leave Barriers

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Motherhood and Work Series: Part 3

Adapted from original publication in The Feminist Psychologist

In the previous installment of this “Motherhood and Work” series, I explored some of the invisible challenges women face to negotiating maternity leave in the workplace. In this post, I will illuminate these challenges with examples from my professional world, academia, that illustrate the barriers faced by both men and women in taking parental leave.

First, let’s acknowledge the psychological and health benefits of parental leave. A break from work following childbirth is associated with a reduction in infant mortality rates (Tanaka, 2005). Breastfeeding increases among mothers who are not employed during the first few months of an infant’s life, which can boost the child's immune system (Baker & Milligan, 2008). Maternity leave has also been found to enhance the cognitive and behavioral development of a child (Berger et al., 2005; Brooks-Gunn, Han, & Waldfogel, 2002). Women who must work immediately after birth also report worse health outcomes, including weakened immune systems and respiratory, gynecologic, and breast symptoms (Gjerdingen, McGovern, Chaloner, & Street, 1995). This snapshot of the evidence is clear, mothers and children benefit from a solid parental leave following childbirth.

However, in spite of the health benefits of maternity leave, mothers still face considerable barriers to securing them. I collected a number of case examples in academia that demonstrate these challenges (Mizock, 2015a). I spoke to several faculty members who were offered 10 days of paid maternity leave by their university, and 12 weeks of unpaid leave per FMLA law. They weren’t allowed to access the sick bank for maternity purposes but were offered paid sick days, though this felt inappropriate since childbirth is not an illness. They were told to put some of their classes online, although they were still expected to teach their full course load following their 10 days off. Neither was offered an alternative assignment that other faculty in the university had received previously, and one was intentionally blocked by her department in learning about this option.

One of these women pointed out that if she had any complications of childbirth, the 10 days truly would not have cut it. Problematic departmental gender dynamics made her fearful of contesting what she was offered. In the end, she felt she couldn’t take more than 10 days since she earned the primary income in her family. Both women acknowledged considerable guilt towards their colleagues and students around taking more time away from their work. They also feared covert repercussions on their evaluations for tenure if they advocated for more.

A third faculty member worked at a woman’s university, which ironically had no paid maternity leave policy. She used FMLA for 12 unpaid weeks, and would have to use sick leave to receive payment. As a new faculty member, she did not have much in savings. With the costs of a new baby, she couldn’t afford the pay cut. Ultimately, she was able to manage an additional 4 weeks of sick leave by accessing the sick leave pool at her university to allow for 10 weeks. Even still, this option is far from ideal and not always available.

I also spoke with a male faculty member who had been in an administrative position and also faced challenges with his leave. His supervisor attempted to renegotiate the paternity leave he was entitled to in his institution. He and his partner were planning to piece together their leaves in order to increase bonding with the newborn and avoid alternative daycare. His supervisor attempted to take away parts of his leave to fit what she felt was best for the office. All the while, he was preparing for the arrival of his adopted child from another country, making for a considerably stressful time. Luckily, an HR representative asserted the law to support his case, and he was able to take his planned leave. He noticed that following his experience, the maternity leave of a female colleague was not contested by their supervisor who was also her friend. He wondered if he had encountered negative gender effects as a man.

His story highlights that there are also barriers to negotiating paternity leaves. Traditional parental leave policies assume the child requires care only from the mother, has a female primary caretaker, is produced biologically, comes from a heterosexual, two-parent family, or a parent who identifies within the gender binary. Paternity leave policies are just as needed as maternity leaves to support men in their roles as fathers. The involvement of fathers in childcare during infancy is beneficial to the health of fathers and children and crucial to establishing gender equality in traditional heterosexual family structures (Barnett, Marshall, & Pleck, 1992; Månsdotter, Lindholm, & Winkvist, 2007; Mizock, 2015b). Paternity leave policies support fathers in becoming more involved parents and enrich the development of father-child relationships. A lack of these policies overlooks fathers who may be gay or single parents and primary caretakers of their children.

It is interesting to note the ways parental leave policies (or lack thereof) unwittingly reinforce heteronormative culture. In the current political climate it may feel hopeless to imagine the U.S. catching up to other societies in our supports around childcare in the workplace. So in the next installment of this series, I will provide a number of tips for negotiating parental leave to help parents find ways to work within their workplaces to maximize recovery and bonding time with a newborn.