Man up and take your paternity leave

Great blog - thanks for posting. It reminded me of a blog I read recently describing what it was like to be an engineer in the 1980s and that maternity leave had effectively been the end to the blogger's mother's engineering career for the same reasons Abbie outlines in her post.


Particularly interesting to see the link to the TUC site showing that parenthood appears to give men a financial bonus for fatherhood (Fathers working full-time get paid a fifth more than men with similar jobs who don’t have children, according to a new report published by the TUC today (Monday). The report shows that dads who work full-time experience, on average, a 21% ‘wage bonus’ and that working fathers with two kids earn more (9%) than those with just one. The findings are in stark contrast to the experience of working mothers, says the report. Women who become mothers before 33 typically suffer a 15% pay penalty.: https://www.tuc.org.uk/equality-issues/gender-equality/equal-pay/pregnancy-discrimination/fathers-working-full-time-earn-21)


@David - I agree. Many women would want to take all available parental leave themselves, and for those on the fence, quite often it will be financial reasons that mean that it is not really in the family's interest to lose the man's monthly income for the statutory pay.


@Stephen - I agree. Companies need to implement flexible working practices for all employees (flexible hours, working from home, part time hours etc.) in order to benefit everyone. Additionally, I think it is shocking to think that any manager's first reaction to the news that a child has been injured would be "can't your wife deal with that?" rather than "You must be incredibly concerned for your child at having received a call like that. Go to the school/hospital immediately to be with your injured child"!

Great blog - thanks for posting. It reminded me of a blog I read recently describing what it was like to be an engineer in the 1980s and that maternity leave had effectively been the end to the blogger's mother's engineering career for the same reasons Abbie outlines in her post.


Particularly interesting to see the link to the TUC site showing that parenthood appears to give men a financial bonus for fatherhood (Fathers working full-time get paid a fifth more than men with similar jobs who don’t have children, according to a new report published by the TUC today (Monday). The report shows that dads who work full-time experience, on average, a 21% ‘wage bonus’ and that working fathers with two kids earn more (9%) than those with just one. The findings are in stark contrast to the experience of working mothers, says the report. Women who become mothers before 33 typically suffer a 15% pay penalty.: https://www.tuc.org.uk/equality-issues/gender-equality/equal-pay/pregnancy-discrimination/fathers-working-full-time-earn-21)


@David - I agree. Many women would want to take all available parental leave themselves, and for those on the fence, quite often it will be financial reasons that mean that it is not really in the family's interest to lose the man's monthly income for the statutory pay.


@Stephen - I agree. Companies need to implement flexible working practices for all employees (flexible hours, working from home, part time hours etc.) in order to benefit everyone. Additionally, I think it is shocking to think that any manager's first reaction to the news that a child has been injured would be "can't your wife deal with that?" rather than "You must be incredibly concerned for your child at having received a call like that. Go to the school/hospital immediately to be with your injured child"!