A report just published by the Government Equalities Office has found that parents do not understand Shared Parental Leave, (SPL) nor are they necessarily aware that it is a legal entitlement for eligible parents, despite the fact that the regulations were introduced over three years ago.
The study “Return to work: parental decision making” also found that, because most women earn less than their partners, many couples experience a strong financial incentive for the mother to take on a bigger share of childcare responsibilities.
Hence the finding that women still do, on average, twice as much childcare as men. This disparity contributes to gender gaps in both employment and earnings, with women being substantially disadvantaged relative to men. For example, in April to June 2017, over 90 per cent of fathers aged 25-34 were in work compared to just under 68 per cent of mothers.
Although finances play an important part in the decision about who goes back to work, the report also found that some parents were discouraged by a lack of information and support from their employer. Not only did many couples not know about SPL, some thought it was down to their employer’s discretion as to whether they were granted it or not.
A lack of role models also contributes to a low awareness of SPL. Amongst the parents interviewed for the study, cases of SPL being accessed remained “pretty much unheard of”. Further, some parents articulated reservations about SPL based on gender stereotypes. They were swayed by an “unspoken assumption” that mothers should care and fathers should work. Likewise, parents may see flexible working and parental leave as being acceptable for women, but not for men.
In terms of methodology, the researchers conducted a literature review of the key drivers of parental decision making; in-depth interviews with 13 couples in the UK who were first-time parents; an analysis of the 2014/15 UK Time Use Survey on time spent on childcare by men and women in the UK; and two online experiments designed to test potential solutions for encouraging parents to share parental leave and childcare responsibilities more equally.
Jo Seery of Thompsons Solicitors commented: “For so long as women continue to earn less than men, take up of shared parental leave by fathers will remain low. Radical reform of shared parental leave and pay which is on a par with other countries such as Denmark, Germany and Portugal is necessary to enable fathers to take parental leave. Until then, the shared parental leave regulations will continue to be nothing more than lip service for parents who want to be able to share childcare.”
Visit the government website to read the report in full.