Dads Exceed Moms In Bonding Leave Claims in California, Colorado, Washington, Other Key States Continue to Expand Benefits
Washington, D.C. — Today Paid Leave for All released a new report that showed that while work remains to expand leave across the entire country, dads are coming close to—or even exceeding—the rates of moms taking bonding leave in most state paid leave programs where leave is available.
Fourteen states and the District of Columbia have passed laws to create their own paid family and medical leave programs, all of which include leave to bond with a new child for parents of any gender. The new report finds that among the ten programs with at least a full year of available data, claims from men make up at least 40% of bonding leave claims in eight programs in the most recent year reported. In the most recent year of available data, the number of bonding leave claims from dads matched or exceeded those from moms in California, Colorado, and Washington.
“This weekend as we celebrate dads and father figures of all kinds, it’s important that we recognize that bonding leave for dads is beneficial for entire families,” said Dawn Huckelbridge, founding director of Paid Leave for All. “When parents have enough time to care for and bond with their babies, it not only helps the dads and babies form closer bonds, but mothers also see the benefits in improved physical and mental health and even increased wages. Paid leave is a win-win-win policy.”
This news represents an important step forward–from 2014 to 2022, more than a third (35%) of first-time fathers in the United States took no leave at all. Fathers who take longer leaves are more engaged in caring for their children and report greater satisfaction in their interactions with their children. Improved paid parental leave policies also have positive impacts on dads’ physical and mental health.
To read the full report click here.