Has the extension of paternity leave which came into force in 2021 reduced inequalities between parents of different sexes? Despite an improvement during this period, the return to work of the father and mother marks the persistence of inequalities in the sharing of domestic and parental tasks, concludes a study by the Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (Drees), Thursday January 23.
In July 2021, the duration of paternity leave for the father, or second parent, increased from 11 to 25 days, in addition to the three days of birth leave, compulsory since 2002. The reform aimed in particular to strengthen the bond between fathers and children and to promote gender equality by rebalancing the sharing of household and parental tasks between the two parents. Many fathers took advantage of this extended leave, which allowed them to invest more in domestic and parental work, reducing inequalities with mothers, revealed the first part of this Drees study, published in July 2023.
This survey work, carried out among around sixty fathers of a child born in 2021, nevertheless showed that the disparities between spouses had not disappeared. The study notably cited taking care of laundry, or the mental burden of planning domestic life, as falling primarily on mothers. Furthermore, the new family balance was quickly disrupted by the resumption of the fathers' professional activity.
Two years after the birth of the child, what is the situation? The fathers interviewed “claim (…) the importance of developing an emotional relationship with their child”notes the Drees, which notes an evolution compared to previous generations. However, the values claimed by fathers are not always aligned with their actions.
“While most fathers emphasize that the birth of their child was an opportunity to review priorities between their professional life and their family life, this distancing had little concrete effect on their commitment to work .”
The DreesPaternage survey from January 2025
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At the end of paternity leave, “priority is often given back to employment” and alone “a minority of fathers choose to reduce their working hours”. The study mentions, however, that the use of teleworking “facilitates the family-employment balance” and allows certain fathers to “manage their family responsibilities, sometimes without their knowledge [leur] employer”.
To be present with their child without making too many professional concessions, fathers “most often select certain activities likely to strengthen, in their eyes, their relationship with the child” due to a “interaction considered pleasant“. They thus enhance playtime, reading stories or outdoor and sporting activities, explains Drees.
Furthermore, on a daily basis, they also invest less than their partners in domestic tasks, putting forward the argument of “lack of availability linked to professional constraints”. And this, “despite displayed egalitarian ideals”notes the study once again. To compensate, some fathers invest more in domestic work on weekends. They nevertheless favor “tasks in which they experience a certain pleasure”or at which they feel they are more competent, such as cooking or tidying up.
Others suggest outsourcing certain tasks by hiring domestic help, asking for help from family to look after their child or having groceries delivered to their home. In the speeches of the fathers interviewed, “female domestic work is relegated to the side of more invisible tasks”notes Drees.
