After California made paid-family leave a law in 2004, fathers were 46pc more likely to take paternity leave in the first year of their kid’s life, according to a study by Maya Rossin-Slater and colleagues. The researchers found that the policy increased father-only leave-taking (i.e., Dad takes leave while Mom is at work) by 50pc and joint parental leave by 28pc. “These effects are much larger for fathers of sons than for fathers of daughters,” they write.

(Source: National Bureau of Economic Research)

Published in Dawn, Business & Finance weekly, January 11th, 2016