In a context where equality between men and women is progressing and where the specialization of roles within young couples is attenuated,
"the taking of
paternity leave
has remained surprisingly stable for twenty years: almost one young father in three still does not use”
, notes a publication of the Center for Studies and Research on Qualifications (Ceraq), published on Wednesday.
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The document examines the obstacles at work, highlighting several.
First, the place in the labor market: while nearly 90% of young fathers employed on permanent contracts resort at least partially to paternity leave, only 65% of fixed-term contracts and 33% of the self-employed use it.
In addition, the more seniority you have in a company, the more you benefit from it.
Moderate differences between socio-professional categories
Taking these 28 days (a duration which was doubled in July 2021) is then
“lower among low incomes… but also among very high incomes”
.
Thus the use is at its lowest (67%) for the 20% of the most modest fathers, it reaches a peak (98%) for those whose income is between 2500 and 2900 euros, and drops to 73% for the 10 % highest paid.
Differences are observed more moderately between socio-professional categories: less recourse to the system for manual workers (77%) and intermediate professions (79%) than for managers (83%) and employees (87%).
Finally, just because you don't take paternity leave doesn't mean you don't get involved.
The study shows that
"no difference is observed in the distribution of tasks within the home (housekeeping and meal preparation)",
whether taken or not.
On the other hand, for needs outside the home (shopping and picking up the children), the father's investment in taking paternity leave is greater.