does parental leave allow fathers to be better involved?

→ Voted in December, the new additional birth leave, which will be put in place from July 1, 2026, is one of the rare measures in the Social Security financing bill (PLFSS) which receives consensus. It offers each parent up to two months of leave, in addition to maternity (10 weeks minimum), paternity (25 days) and parental leave (up to 3 years). The idea is simple, in a context of chronic declining birth rates: allow both spouses to take care of the newborn and thus better balance the sharing of tasks.

→ Because the arrival of a child disrupts the professional lives of mothers. Five years after a first birth, the income of women employed in the private sector remains on average around 25% lower than they would have been without children, while the impact is almost non-existent for fathers. On a daily basis, women continue to shoulder nearly two-thirds of domestic and parental tasks.

→ For around ten years, public authorities therefore seek to encourage a greater presence of fathers with young children.

A 2014 reform had already attempted to move in this direction by making the implementation of parental leave conditional on the fact that it was also taken by fathers. While this measure helped some mothers return to work more quickly, it did not lead to a massive movement of men taking long leave. The compensation remains low (half the minimum wage), which hinders those who often earn more than their spouse.

→ Conversely, paternity leave is becoming increasingly popular thanks to compensation proportional to salary. The future birth leave is also, and should therefore convince. There remains one limit: the initial idea of ​​requiring alternating taking between parents has been abandoned. However, in Nordic models, as in Sweden, it is the imposed alternation which forces fathers to become more involved.

→ In conclusion, these holidays can work, provided they are attractive and well thought out. And it’s not just a matter of ideology: in a country where the birth rate is falling, allowing better sharing of family responsibilities is also a demographic issue and collective common sense.

Sources: High Council for Family, Childhood and Age, Insee, OFCE.