Shortly before his second stint of extended parental leave, lawyer Adam was left embarrassed in front of clients when a senior partner asked why he was taking time off instead of his wife.
Elsewhere, fathers’ ability to take time off is enshrined in law. In the UK, a 2015 shared parental leave policy gives mothers and fathers the right to share up to 50 weeks of leave after the birth or adoption of their child. But only about 2 per cent of parents use this scheme for fathers, mostly because they cannot afford to reduce their income to statutory pay levels.Overy and Linklaters and insurer Aviva, are stepping in with policies offering better benefits.
“If they take parental leave, they may face mockery, [and are] viewed suspiciously. It is often viewed as being work-shy. They say all these things to working dads but wouldn’t dream of saying it to working mums.” Louisa Symington-Mills, founder of WorkLife Central, which offers digital content for working parents, says extended leave is helping to foster an “understanding in workplaces that parenting responsibilities will be shared more equally”.For Ronak Patel, equities sales trader at Morgan Stanley, who took leave after the birth of his son in March last year, t. “We’re trying to encourage a more diverse workforce at Morgan Stanley and on the trading floor.