What could Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to take paternity leave mean for ordinary workers?

On November 20, 2015 Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg announced he wouldtake two months offafter the birth of his first child.

Explaining his decision, Zuckerberg referred to research that shows thatoutcomes are better for children and their familieswhen working parents take time out to be with their newborns. He also noted that Facebook offers its US employees up tofour months of paid maternity or paternity leave—an unusually generous allowance in the US labor market.

There is obviously a growing demand for paid paternity leave, particularly as families continue to adapt to the fact thatmost parents now work, and men report as much stress overwork–life balanceas women do. In California—the first US state to offer government-supported paternity leave—fathers were46% more likely to take leavein the first year after their children were born when the option was made available, especially first-time fathers and those working in jobs where parental leave was more common.

Nina Smithbroachesthe division of family responsibilities in her IZA World of Labor paper ongender quotas on boards of directors. She feels that policymakers should focus on “getting a more balanced gender division of careers within the family, for instance by encouraging more fathers to take advantage of parental leave schemes” in order to improve the gender balance in organizations, specifically at board level.

Hopefully, prominent examples like Mark Zuckerberg, will change attitudes to parental leave for the benefit of all.

Related articles:
Gender quotas on boards of directors, byNina Smith
My husband and I were equal partners—then we had a baby, byBrigid Schulte