The Parental Leave Corporate Task Force: Championing leave for dads and their families

The Parental Leave Corporate Task Force, established in June 2019, aims to champion access to parental leave for dads everywhere.

Our vision:

We aspire to help create a world in which dads are enabled and empowered to take parental leave, so the benefits of men’s care and greater gender equality are felt at home, at work, and in society more widely.



Our purpose:

To provide more dads with the opportunity to take paid parental leave by promoting the adoption of supportive employer policies and helping to dismantle workplace cultural barriers and restrictive societal norms that hinder uptake.


The COVID-19 pandemic has caused social and economic turmoil across the world, causing staggering unemployment in some cases and bringing enormous changes in the daily lives of adults and children. For many of us, the impact has been felt most keenly within our homes as we seek to juggle the demands of work with caregiving responsibilities.

Even as many employers struggled, many individuals and families did as well. In many cases, the pandemic has led to a fundamental reassessment of how employers support their employees to balance work and family responsibilities in a sustainable way – it is no longer a question of whether, but how. But we recognise that for frontline, care, and hourly workers, this may not be their reality and the burden is even heavier.

We’re committed to using our scale and influence to drive meaningful change among businesses, such as by sharing emerging good practice from employers seeking to create a workplace that supports their working parents, their children and families and is resilient to sudden disruptions as we hopefully ease out of the pandemic. Our aim is to raise awareness of the benefits of supported and equitable caregiving in the home, at work and in society more widely, for lasting change for workers, their children, their families and society at large.

What’s the issue?
What’s the issue?

What’s the issue?

Despite clear benefits to both men and their families, dads globally are facing barriers to taking parental leave.



85% of dads say they would do anything to be very involved in caring for their new child.1
Less than50% of the countries in the world have a parental leave policy for dads, including some of the biggest nations in the world, like the United States.2
Less than50% of the world’s dads take the leave available to them.3

Barriers vary across the world and can include a lack of statutory and employer policies. Or, where policies exist, uptake is low due to lack of financial resources, a fear of negative impact on careers due to restrictive workplace culture, and limiting gender stereotypes amongst families and in society more widely.

What are we doing about it?

What are we doing about it?

The Task Force brings together leading representatives from global corporations and civil organisations with the aim to raise awareness of the benefits of parental leave for dads and create lasting change at scale.

Task Force members recognise that everyone wins when parental leave for dads becomes the norm. Positive and meaningful interaction with fathers from the very beginning helps to shape children’s brain growth and development for life. Parental leave also positively impacts the emotional and physical wellbeing of parents; helps share what is currently an unequal load of unpaid care work done by women; and supports progress towards closing the gender pay gap.

Overall, greater provision and take up of parental leave for dads will help accelerate progress toward gender equality – including United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 – and aid economic growth and development.

How are we doing it?

The Task Force uses its scale and influence to drive meaningful change by sharing good practice, raising awareness of the benefits of parental leave for individuals (both children and parents), for business and for society, and encouraging better employer provision and employee uptake.

Parental leave for dads catalyses progress in achieving gender equality

Gender Equality
Who’s involved?

Who’s involved?

The initiative was founded by Dove Men+Care, a Unilever men’s personal care brand, and Promundo, a global NGO working to advance gender equality by engaging men and boys as partners with women and girls.

Other members include: Bank of America, Deloitte, Facebook, Twitter, Women Deliver, as well as UNICEF as a technical advisor.

Dove Men+Care Logo Unilever Logo Promundo Logo Bank of America Logo Deloitte Logo Facebook Logo Twitter Logo UNICEF Logo Women Deliver Logo
Dove Men+Care logo Unilever Logo
Promundo Logo Bank of America Logo
Deloitte Logo Facebook Logo
Twitter Logo UNICEF Logo
Women Deliver Logo

Together the members are working to develop a strategy that has the maximum possible impact. As a first step, the Task Force will focus on increasing parental leave uptake by dads among large companies who already have policies in place, as this is where it can initially have the greatest impact.



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“I’m Fighting For Paternity Leave — So Should You”

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Let's Champion Paternity Leave Together

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Paid Leave Is Our Best Shot For Equality In The Home

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Resources



Resources

In collaboration with Paid Leave for the US (PL+US) and Promundo, the Parental Leave Corporate Task Force released PAID LEAVE AND THE PANDEMIC: Effective Workplace Policies For a Time of Crisis and Beyond, a report capturing the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses. The report findings underscored the importance of both strong paid leave policies and a supportive workplace culture that allows paid leave uptake to thrive.


The Parental Leave Corporate Task Force recognizes the importance of parental leave uptake and a workplace culture that supports dads. The following resources can be used by companies to help build and reinforce a workplace culture that celebrates dads.


Putting Fathers’ Care to Work: Parental Leave and the Pandemic (2021)


This infographic, produced by the Parental Leave Corporate Task Force, explores the care crisis brought on by the global COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on working parents and businesses. Drawing from recent research, it explores how the pandemic has exacerbated low uptake of leave and gender inequalities, and how barriers such as workplace culture and social norms remain firmly entrenched. Having partnered with Paid Leave for the United States (PL+US) and Promundo, the Parental Leave Corporate Task Force is able to provide a blueprint for businesses looking to increase gender-equal update of paid leave and support employees and their families.


DOWNLOAD THE INFOGRAPHICDove Task Force



Putting Fathers’ Care to Work: Landscape Report on Working Fathers’ Uptake of Parental Leave (2020)


This landscape report, produced by the Parental Leave Corporate Task Force, reviews current research on access to and uptake of parental leave by working fathers—and identifies barriers that keep fathers from taking more leave. Drawing from recent research from academia, civil society organizations, multilateral development institutions, and business and trade associations, Putting Fathers’ Care to Work includes recommendations for employers on designing and implementing workplace policies that encourage more fathers to use all the leave they are entitled to, for the benefit of themselves, their families, their workplaces, and society as a whole.


DOWNLOAD THE REPORTDove Task Force




How to learn more or get involved
How to learn more or get involved

How can you learn more or get involved?

If you’re a progressive global corporation interested in turning talk into action for the workplace; an organisation that shares our commitment to advocate for policy change; or a journalist interested in hearing more get in touch with us HEREParental Leave Corporate Task Force.

Together we can work to ensure every dad gets the chance to care for the people who matter most – but we need your help to make parental leave for dads understood, possible and desirable.