Indian fathers take just 7 days of paternity leave: Report
What's the story
India has the second-largest gap between maternity and paternity leave among major economies, a report by Deel has found. The global hiring and payroll platform's study analyzed nearly 5,000 parents across 12 major economies. It found that Indian mothers take a median of 130 working days (around 26 weeks) of parental leave, while fathers take only seven days, the shortest among all countries surveyed.
Leave dynamics
Paternity leave at employer's discretion
In India, paternity leave is entirely at the employer's discretion and is not mandated by law.
This has resulted in Indian fathers taking the least amount of parental leave among all 12 countries studied.
In contrast, fathers in the United Kingdom and Italy take a median of 10 days each, while those in Canada and the United States take 28 days.
Leave trends
Global trends in parental leave
The Deel report also highlighted global trends in parental leave.
While mothers tend to take their full legal entitlement, fathers often do not.
In Sweden and Spain, for example, fathers take 67 and 70 days of leave, respectively.
The study also noted that company size impacts the amount of time off taken by mothers; those at larger companies tend to take around 80 more days than their counterparts at smaller firms.
Pay disparity
Gender pay gap widens after childbirth
The study also found that the gender pay gap widens sharply after childbirth. This "child penalty" persists for years and is documented across industries and countries.
The report stated, "The disparity in parental leave is one of the first places this penalty shows up."
It added that some research suggests fathers who take more leave can help mothers earn more later on.