Fathers Now File 40% of Paid Leave Claims Across Eight State Programs

Fathers now account for 40% of paid leave claims across the eight state programs with at least a year of data, according to a report from the advocacy group Paid Leave for All. In California, Colorado and Washington, dads are filing at least as many leave claims as mothers.

The number marks a sharp break from a decade of stagnation. When the earliest programs launched in California, New Jersey and Rhode Island, women filed far more bonding-leave claims than men. "When those programs launched, way more women than men were taking or applying for bonding leave," says Molly Weston Williamson, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress who authored the report. "What we've seen over time is that men are catching up to or coming close to the number of claims from women."

Across the three states that implemented paid leave first, the sheer number of claims from men has climbed significantly. In states that enacted paid leave more recently, men file more claims from the start. The programs in California and New Jersey have also improved over time, securing better pay and job protections.

"Bigger picture, what we're seeing in states across the country is that when dads have the opportunity to take paid leave," Williamson says, "they're showing up and taking it."

Why the numbers finally moved

For years, men who took time off typically cobbled it together from vacation days, sick days or unpaid leave. "In more recent times, most men are taking some time off when their child is born," says Richard Petts, a sociology professor at Ball State University. "But it's been short, typically less than a week—being there in the hospital when their child is born. And when mom and baby come home, they go back to work."

That pattern is changing. An analysis by the American Institute for Boys and Men (AIBM) found men are not only taking more leave, but the gap between how much leave men and women take is slowly narrowing. The findings contrast with a report earlier this year from the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, which painted a drearier picture—but that report drew only on data prior to 2020, before new state paid leave policies took effect.

"We are now seeing really significant increases in the number of the share of fathers taking time off, the amount of time they're taking off, [and] the amount of parenting being done by dads, even just in the last few years," says AIBM president Richard Reeves. "So we're starting to see the thing we've all been hoping for."

The rate at which dads take leave has tripled since 2019, with gains concentrated in states that provide paid leave. AIBM's research shows men are more likely to take intermittent leave or work partial weeks rather than multiple weeks at a stretch. A recent study from the New Practice Lab at New America adds a concrete figure: men in paid leave states take over four weeks on average, more than a week longer than in other states.

Dads still take less time than moms—about two weeks on average. But Petts says that figure rises to over three weeks when counting only men who take any time off. "You could say that fathers have sort of doubled their average length of leave," he says. Men are also now more likely to use time explicitly earmarked for parental leave rather than sick days or unpaid time off.

What's still holding dads back

Only about a quarter of private sector employees have access to paid leave through their company. Fourteen states now have leave programs, which means one in three workers have access to paid leave.

"In places where there isn't a public policy guarantee, there [are] big differences in who has access," Williamson adds. "Higher income, full-time workers are much more likely to have access . . . Whereas when we have a state program, the goal is always to get as close to universal as we can."

State programs usually entitle men and women to the same amount of time, and the rise in male claims suggests gender-neutral policies may drive utilization among dads. But Petts' research found men can actually face greater penalties for taking leave under a gender-neutral policy than under one framed as paternity leave. They're perceived as less committed to the job and may experience professional setbacks.

"I don't know that simply having access to a policy makes it more culturally acceptable to use the policy," Petts says. "I think it provides a mechanism for men who want to use the policy to take it. But it is still highly dependent on workplace culture and what is viewed as acceptable for men."

Reeves is more optimistic. He points to recent AIBM research indicating the gender gap across both paid and unpaid work has been shrinking since the pandemic—men doing more unpaid work at home, women doing more paid work outside it. "The progressive view is that dads still aren't doing enough on the home front, and currently the more conservative view is that dads shouldn't be," he says. "Meanwhile, dads are doing more."

The high-profile examples set the template years ago: Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian took four months of paternity leave, writing that "I believe it starts at the top, not only with implementing paid family leave policies for moms and dads but also through leading by example." Mark Zuckerberg took two months of parental leave after each of his daughters were born in 2015 and 2017. State data now shows ordinary fathers following that lead—and as more states roll out programs, the 40% claims share is a number likely to keep climbing.