Review of Public Administration and Management

A Study of Indian Corporate Employee’s Viewpoint Regarding Paternity Leave

Priyanka Lalwani^1* and Ishita Pathak^{2 1}Department of Business Administration, AURO University, Surat, Gujarat, India
²Department of Business Administration, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India
^*Correspondence: Priyanka Lalwani, Department of Business Administration, AURO University, Surat, Gujarat, India, Email:

Received: 04-Dec-2020, Manuscript No. RPAM-20-001-PreQc-22; Editor assigned: 07-Dec-2020, Pre QC No. RPAM-20-001-PreQc-22 (PQ); Reviewed: 21-Dec-2020, QC No. RPAM-20-001-PreQc-22;; Revised: 28-Dec-2020, Manuscript No. RPAM-20-001-PreQc-22 (R); Published: 08-Jan-2021, DOI: DOI:10.35248/2315-7844.22.10.354

Introduction

Parental leave refers to the concept which aims to form work places more family friendly. When there is the birth of an infant within the family, these rules allow for the possibility of taking a leave of absence–by the mother, father or in some case both–to take responsibility of the baby. This leave may be either paid or unpaid. What it attempts to safeguard is that the caretaker can manage both a family and a career. However, parental leaves often only decipher into maternity leaves, very seldom are they ever for the father. Paternity leaves as a policy is not a usual phenomenon, and the very lack of it points to a gender gap in our industry laws.

The idea of this research paper was sparked by the equality being wanted for women but no one had raised voice for men and their right to equality. While women in India have The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 which allows for pregnant women to take leave for an aggregate of 26 weeks out of which 8 weeks can be requested before delivery date, there is no concrete policy for men. The woman is also supposed to get paid a benefit at the rate of her daily wage for three months prior to her going on maternity leave. This law applies to all women working in institutions with 10 or more personnel. It also provides for adoptive moms, who are permitted to 12 weeks of leave. For women having undergone a tubectomy operation–meant to halt future pregnancies–the Act provides for a 2-week paid leave. It is quite evident that there is no proper law for paternity benefits. The provision that exists in India gives 15 days depart for the father, as opposed to a maximum of 26 weeks or 182 days for the mother. That is less than 8 percent. The amount of days given to the mother can be partly justified by the physical recovery the body needs after childbirth. However, the immense gap that exists between these two policies depicts the possible mindset that went into creating them. The father need not stay at home as much as the mother must, as she is expected to carry the burden of the child-rearing obligations. In this manner, legal policies are highlighting societal partialities.

Literature Review

I’ve previously discussed how the US lacks a national paternity leave programme, in contrast to many European nations [1]. They have studied the consequences, circumstances and determinants of taking paternal leaves by looking at the 1st wave data from ECLS-B (early Childhood longitudinal study-Birth cohort) the findings suggested that majority of the fathers have taken some leave when their child was born but there have been variations in the length of the leaves that have been taken. The study also indicates that those fathers who tend to take a longer leave have been seen to be more involved in the child care-taking activities nine months later.

85 parents from three cities—Toronto, Montreal, and Chicago— have been interviewed [2]. As per the author taking time off from work and drawing the fathers into the everyday realities of the child care where his mind is free of the workplace issues is very necessary for the development of the right parenting skills and to gain the amount of responsibility it takes which allows them to be a genuine co-parent and not just a basic helper to the mothers. He mentions how it is important that the shift from manager-helper scenario to that of a parent creates more opportunities for a gender equitable division of labor.

He has investigated national longitudinal data to determine whether taking paternity leaves is connected to two markers of father engagement when the children are infants, whether doing so is connected to father engagement trajectories during the early years of a child’s life, and whether the relationship between father engagement and paternity leaves can be explained by fathering attitudes and commitments. The findings suggest that longer amounts of paternal leaves are related to more frequent engagement in caretaking and developmental tasks when the child is an infant and also during the initial years of the child’s life [3]. There also has been evidence that the attitude of the father does partially explain the relations between father engagement and length of the paternity leave.

This study has taken data from 3 national datasets and has studied in detail the attitudes, practices and predictors of the scenario of paid paternity leave-taking in the United States of America [4]. The authors have focused on describing the length and rate of paternity leave taking, the extent to which the social, cultural and economic capital and the father identities predict the practices of paternity leave taking practices. The findings have suggested that most people support the idea of fathers receiving a paid paternity leave but irrespective of this, the rates at which these leaves are taken is low. The duration for which fathers take this leave is only for a week or less. The study concludes that the present structure of US paternity leave policies limit access to paid paternity leaves and have contributed to patterns of inequalities due to the more advantaged fathers have greater ability and access to take the leaves in comparison to the less advantaged fathers.

The authors have studied the various laws and rules in association with the maternity and paternity leave for Indian employees [5]. Various acts like the Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY) and Pradhan Mantri MatruVanadana Yojana (PMMVY) have been studied and the leave structure for maternity and paternity leave has been understood. Paternity leave can be taken 15 days before or within 6 months of the child birth and in case of adoption also and the leave is lapsed if it is not taken and this is only authorized for the government employees and the country does not have any law making the paternity leave compulsory for private sector.

Analysis suggests that 4 weeks paternity leave during the child’s 1^st year reduces father’s potential earnings by 2.1 percent [6]. Importantly, this effect continues up until the last point of observation when the child is 5 years old. The earnings effect is constant with increased long-term father connection, as fathers shift time and effort from office to home.

The authors analyze how men’s independence, capability, accountability and concern as a parent is presumed and communicated. ‘New father’ concept should be investigated in relation to equal status policy, stressing mothers and father’s equal responsibility for child care as well as for economical necessities. The particular role played is considered by protracted time off immediately after the delivery of a baby in organizing that experience.

This change from a manager to father dynamic to that of coparenting creates the chance for the evolution of a more genderunbiased division of work.

The writers investigate how a parental leave development is focused towards fathers affected leave‐taking, and, in turn, kids’ and parentages’ long‐term outcomes [7]. A paternal leave allowance greatly expands the share of men taking paternity leave. They find evidence that children’s school performance progresses as a result, particularly in families where the father has advanced education than the mother.

The primary objective is to inspect the relationship between paternity leave in 1978–1979 and male mortality during 1981–2001, and the following objective is to compute the cost-effectiveness of the 1974 parental coverage reform in Sweden [8]. It is established that patriarchs who took paternity leave have a statistically noteworthy decreased death threat of 16%. The study indicates that that the right to paternity leave is a required reform based on commonly stated public wellbeing, monetary, and feminist goals.

Increased contribution of fathers in childrearing leads to closer, more pleasing relationships with their children the opportunity to witness and take part in their growth; and a feeling of capability through child care [9]. But many fathers do not have the opportunity to spend a lot of time with their children, particularly through the first few months of life. Congress purported to design the FMLA to ease the worry for both parents regarding parental leave. But in reality, the FMLA supports the cause of moms to a greater scope than it does that of father.

The author equates fathers’ patterns of leave-taking through 24 countries from to present new types of father-care-sensitive leave representations. Findings show that fathers’ use of statutory leave is greatest when high income replacement is combined with extended duration [10]. Although studies are limited, parental leave has the potential to boost fathers’ emotional savings in and connection with newborns. Differential admittance to statuary leave raises the possibility of a new polarization for children being born into either a parental-leave-rich or -poor household and country.

Research gaps

• Lack of research on paternity leave policy in India

• No comparative analysis has been done between the paternity leave policies of developing/developed countries.

• Lack of research has been done on analyzing what the Indian corporate employees think about the concept of paternal leave policies.

• Lack of research has been done on analyzing the impact of paternal leave policies on the father-child engagement in India.

Research objective

• To study what the Indian corporate employees think about the concept of paternity leave and if it should be made into a concrete policy or not.

• What should be the duration for which paternity leave should be taken and should it be flexible or compulsory.

• To analyse if the Indian male employees would be willing or unwilling to take paternity leave.

• To analyse the impact of paternity leave on father-child engagement.

Methodology

There is no concrete existence of paternity leave policy in India. This study has been undertaken in order to know the views of Indian corporate employees and what they think about the concept of paternity leave in India. Following is the methodology used for the study.

Type of research: mixed

Method refers to the methodology of research that integrates both quantitative and qualitative data within a single investigation. It refers to a procedure for collecting, analyzing and mixing both quantitative and qualitative research methods.

The type used in the study is mixed research as it included both the qualitative and quantitative aspects. The basic idea of the research is to understand people’s knowledge and perceptions related to the concept of paternity leave system in India. The study has been conducted using a questionnaire that is a mix of qualitative (openended) questions wherein the participants have given their opinion related to what they think about the concept of paternity leave policy, are men in the country willing or unwilling to take such leaves and the reasons for the same and quantitative (closed-ended) questions wherein factors such as number of days for which the leave should be taken are analyzed.

Research design: exploratory

The exploratory sequential mixed design is classified by an initial qualitative phase of knowledge collection and analysis, followed by a phase of quantitative data collection. It is flexible and stipulates initial groundwork for future research.

This design has been chosen for the study as the first step involved studying various research papers related to the concept of paternity leave policies as a part of literature review. After understanding the material given in the papers, a questionnaire was framed in order to understand the perceptions of Indian corporate employees towards paternity leave. There were not a lot of studies that were specifically based on paternity leave policy in India so this study will serve as a tool for initial research as well.

Sampling

Sampling technique purposive: This is a non-probability sampling method. In this sort of sampling, we sample with a resolution in mind and would usually have one or more predefined sets that we are looking for. The authors decided to go for purposive sampling as they were specifically targeting the Indian corporate employees from various industries across the country in order to know their views on the concept of paternity leave policy. The study has focused on both the genders, especially males in order to know their opinion on the subject as they will be the ones on which this policy will be implemented if it comes into existence.

Population and sampling frame: The authors floated a Google form (Questionnaire) and initially the responses received were 150 which had a mix of participants who were employed full-time, part-time and not employed. They filtered them out and took the participants who were employed because of the need to observe the organizational policies regarding paternity leave. The study finally had 103.

Sampling units: For the final analysis. The 103 responses consisted of 69 males (67%) and 34 females (33%). The participant’s age ranged from 18 to above 54, most responses being from the age group of 45-54 (43.7%). Of the 103 respondents, most of the respondents 54 (52.9%) were married. 52 (50.5%) participants had children and 51 (49.5%) did not have children. The participants were from diverse working backgrounds, Service Industry participants being the majority i.e. 21 (20.4%) followed by Technology 16 (15.5%), Consulting 13(12.6%), Education 12 (11.7%) etc.

Sampling errors

Selection error: This type of error usually occurs when the respondents self-select their participation in the study and only the ones who are interested respond. Most of the participants have answered all the questions in the questionnaire that was floated but a few of the participants have not answered all the questions (which they did not feel like answering or were not comfortable answering) as a result of which equal responses for all the questions have not been received.

Non-response: The aim of the survey was to target the working population of the country across different industries especially the employees who were married and had kids (as their view towards paternity leave was of utmost importance) but due to the nonresponse of a lot of employees, the target group got expanded to unmarried and married employees (without children).

Variables-Independent variables (cause)

Age: The study is divided into 5 age groups (below 18, 18 to 24, 25 to 34, 35 to 44, 45 to 54 and 54 above).

Gender: The research has focused on knowing about the viewpoints both the genders but there has been more emphasis on males (67%) in comparison to females (33%).

Having Children or not: Persons have self-reported if they have children or no.

Employment status: The study has included all participants who are either employed (full-time or part time) in any organization.

Existence of Paternity leave in the organization.

Dependent variable (effect): Effect on Father-Child bonding after taking paternity leave.

i. Duration of the leave (amount of time it should be offered).

ii. Willingness of an employee to take paternity leave.

iii. Flexible or compulsory paternity leave.

iv. Supportive environment provided by the employee’s organization.

Scales used

Scales of measurement in research and statistics are the various ways during which variables are defined and grouped into different categories. Sometimes called the extent of measurement, it describes the nature of the values assigned to the variables within a data set.

Nominal scale: The nominal scale refers to a scale of measurement that’s used for identification purposes. Sometimes known as categorical scale, it allocates numbers to attributes for simple identity. These numbers are however not qualitative in kind and only act in the way of labels. The authors have used nominal scaling for analyzing most of our data as it can extract data from even the simplest questions. They have numbered the variables of a question into numbers as 1, 2, 3, etc. and used statistical tools on the data.

Instruments used: questionnaire

A questionnaire refers to a research instrument comprising of a series of questions for the purpose of collecting data from respondents, where each individual is asked to reply to a similar set of questions in a prearranged direction.

The first step in designing the questionnaire understood the current scenario of paternity leave in India and previous research done. So, the authors did a literature review and talked to people in general regarding the topic to get a fair idea of the questions to be asked and taken into consideration. The questionnaire (Google form: Online tool) consisted of 5 basic questions related to the individual and 10 subject specific questions to extract their point of view. All the questions framed were made while keeping in mind the aim and hypothesis of the research.

Tools used

MS excel: For analyzing the responses of Indian corporate employees on paternity leave of India, we have used pivot tables and Figuress on MS Excel (taking base as age, gender, industry and marital status) to analyses what different age groups of employees, males and females, and married (with and without children) and unmarried couples think about the existence of paternity leave, the duration for which it should be taken, if it should be flexible or compulsory, are men unwilling to take paternity leave because of the social stigma or not (and the various reasons for that) etc.

Plagiarism checker: An online plagiarism checker tool has been used in order to check the plagiarism percentage for our entire study.

Google form: A questionnaire has been framed for the survey and it has been made using Google forms which automatically also records the number of responses received.

Google scholar: All the research papers that have been studied as a part of the literature review have been taken from Google scholar.

Results

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Total respondents: 103

1. Paternity Leave offered by organizations

Figure 1A-Age based analysis

Figure 1A: Age based analysis. Note: Above 54

Figure 1B-Employees with/without children based analysis

Figure 1B: Employees with/without children based analysis. Note:

Figure 1C-Gender based analysis

Figure 1C: Gender based analysis. Note:

2) Is there a need for the existence of paternity leave policy in Organizations

Figure 2A-Age based analysis

Figure 2A: Age based analysis. Note: Above 54

Figure 2B-Employees with/without children based analysis

Figure 2B: Employees with/without children based analysis. Note: Above 54

Figure 2C-Gender based analysis

Figure 2C: Gender based analysis. Note:

3) Duration for which leave should be taken

Figure 3A-Age based analysis

Figure 3A: Age based analysis. Note: Above 54

Figure 3B-Employees with/without children based analysis

Figure 3B: Employees with/without children based analysis. Note:1 month, The same as given for Maternity leave.

Figure 3C-Gender based analysis

Figure 3C: Gender based analysis. Note: 1 week, The same as given for Maternity leave.

4) Willingness of men to take paternity leave

Figure 4A-Age based analysis

Figure 4A: Age based analysis. Note: Above 54

Figure 4B-Employees with/without children based analysis

Figure 4B: Employees with/without children based analysis. Note:

Figure 4C-Gender based analysis

Figure 4C: Gender based analysis. Note:

5) Reasons for unwillingness

Figure 5A-Age based Analysis

Figure 5A: Age based analysis. Note: Above 54

Figure 5B-Employees with/without children based analysis

Figure 5B: Employees with/without children based analysis. Note:

Figure 5C-Gender based analysis

Figure 5C: Gender based analysis. Note:

6) Paternity Leave: Flexible or Compulsory

Figure 6A-Age based analysis

Figure 6A: Age based analysis. Note: Above 54

Figure 6B-Employees with/without children based analysis

Figure 6B: Employees with/without children based analysis. Note:Not sure.

7) Does the employee’s organization foster an environment in which he feels comfortable to take parental leave?

Figure 7A-Age based analysis

Figure 7A: Age based analysis. Note: Above 54.

Figure 7B-Employees with/without children based analysis

Figure 7B: Employees with/without children based analysis. Note: Maybe, Yes.

Figure 7C-Gender based analysis

Figure 7C: Gender based analysis. Note:

8) Importance of paternity leave in relation to Father Child Bonding

Figure 8A-Age based analysis

Figure 8A: Age based analysis. Note: Above 54.

Figure 8B-Employees with/without children based analysis

Figure 8B: Employees with/without children based analysis. Note:

Figure 8C-Gender based analysis

Figure 8C: Gender based analysis. Note:

Discussion

Analyzing the data from the survey, following findings were drawn

• The data collected represents all working-class age-group from 18 years to 54 years and above. The distribution has been made as follows:

• 18-24 years: 41.8%

• 25-34 years: 5.8%

• 35-44 years: 2.9%

• 45-54 years: 43.7%

• Above 54 years: 5.8%

• The data has been collected across many industries like hospitality, consulting, manufacturing, technology, financial, education etc. and represents the interests of both male and female genders constituting 33% and 67% of the total population respectively.

• Out of the total population 52.9% represent married individuals whereas 47.9% unmarried.

• Out of the married population, 50.5% of the population has kids and 49.5% does not.

Organizations offering any kind of paternity leave policy

• Out of the total population, 42.7% of the respondents have agreed to having a paternity leave policy in their organization whereas 34% had a negative response 23.3% were not aware if the policy existed in their organization or not.

Need for the existence of a paternity leave policy

• When the respondents were asked if there is a need for the existence of a paternity leave policy 89.3% of the total population agreed that there should be a concrete policy in every organization whereas 5.8% said maybe and 4.9% showed a negative response.

• Analyzing the data, it was found that the 88.3% of the respondents in the age groups of 18-24 years wanted a paternity leave policy against 4.8% who did not whereas 6.9% of the respondents were not sure. All the respondents in the age groups of 25-34 and 35- 44 years showed a positive response. 88.9% respondents in the age group of 45-54 years wanted a concrete paternity leave policy whereas 6.66% did not and 4.6% were unsure.

• Out of the 51 employees who do not have children, 29.4% (highest) wanted the leave to be as much as the one that is given to a woman. Talking about the 52 employees who have children, 36.4% (highest) wanted the leave to be for duration of 2 weeks.

• 90.1% Positive responses were received by both the employees that had children and the ones who did not.

• 94.2% of the female employees agreed that there was a need for a concrete policy against 2.9% of those who were unsure and 2.9% of those who were not in favor of it. 86.9% of the male employees showed a positive response against 5.7% of those who did not want it and 7.4% were unsure.

Duration for which the paternity leave policy should be taken

• The respondents were asked what should be the duration for which the leave should be taken. 4.9% of the total respondents wanted the leave to be for 1 week, 23.3% for 2 weeks, 16.5% for 1 month, 18.4% for 2 months, 14.6% for 2-6 months and 22.3% wanted it to be for the same period for which maternity leave is offered.

• Amongst the employees in the age group of 18-24, 27.9% wanted the duration to be for 2-6 months (highest), and 25.5% wanted it to be for 2 months and the same duration for which maternity leave is taken. The rest had mixed responses. The age group of 25-34, 35- 44 and above 54 has mixed responses. In the age group of 45-54, 33.3% (highest) voted for duration of 2 weeks and 20% voted for 1 month and rest were divided amongst the others.

• Out of the total of 34 female respondents, highest vote i.e 35.29% of the females wanted the leave to be the same as the one given to them and other responses were mixed. Out of the total 69 male respondents, highest responses (18) i.e 26.08% was given for 2 weeks.

Willingness of men to take paternity leave

• The respondents were asked if men would be willing to take paternity leave in India and 39.8% of the total population showed a positive response against 60.2% who showed a negative response.

• Amongst the respondents in the age group of 18-24, 51% said that men would be unwilling to take a paternity leave against the 49% who said that would be willing. 83.3% of the population in the age group of 25-34 should that men would be unwilling against the 16%. The age group of 35-44 again should 67% negative response against the 33% positive response. The age group of 45- 54 years showed 68.8% would be unwilling against the 31.2%. The employees in the age group of 54 years and above had a 50- 50 response. Overall, it can be seen that the respondents in all age-groups have mainly responded that male employees will be unwilling to take a paternity leave in India.

• Majority of both the employees having children or no children have showed a negative response that men will be unwilling to take a leave.

• Talking about the gender based analysis; Males have showed a 68.1% negative response against the 31.9%. Females on the other hand have had showed more positive responses (56%) against the 44% negative responses. Females hence are of the opinion that men in India will definitely be willing to take a paternity leave if it is offered to them.

Reasons for unwillingness

• Out of the 60.2% of the population that think that Men in India will be unwilling to take a leave were asked the reasons/causes that are linked to the unawareness of the men.

• 52.5% indicated the reason for unwillingness as social stigma, 35.6% have stated the reason as lack of knowledge about paternity leave, 39% have stated that men are not willing to take a leave as they are apprehensive of the reaction they will get from their employer, 64.4% have stated that men are scared of losing their promotions or any performance bonus, 33.9% have stated that it is because men do not want to support their wives with the hands-on menial tasks of the baby, 25.4% stated that their job could be in jeopardy and the rest have stated that men sometimes feel that it the women’s job to take care of the baby hence the unwillingness.

Should Paternity leave offered to men be flexible or compulsory?

• 64.1% of the total population is of the opinion that Paternity leaves should be flexible against the 30.1% who think it should be compulsory and 5.8% was not sure.

• In the age group of 18-24 years, 62.7% wanted to go with flexible leave against the 25.58 percent who wanted a compulsory leave and others were not sure. 66.6% of population in age groups of 35-44 years and 45-54 years opted for flexible leave against the 33.1%. It was completely opposite for the age group of 25-34 years as 66% of the responses are in favor of compulsory leave against the 33.33 percent. The analysis hence shows us that all age groups apart from 25-34 years were in favor of flexible leave.

• Out of the employees who have children, 67.3% opted for flexible leave against the 30.7%. Other was not sure. 60.7% of the respondents who don’t have children were in favor of Flexible leaves against 29.4% who opted for compulsory leaves.

• Both males and females were of the same opinion as majority of them are of the opinion that the paternity leave offered should be flexible and not compulsory.

Supportive environment provided by organization to take paternity leave

• The employees that are a part of the survey are from different industries across the country and were asked if the organization they were working in fostered a supportive environment for them/ their male employees to take a paternity leave. 48.5% of the population showed a positive response. 16.8% showed a negative response and 34.7% were not sure.

• In the age group of 18-24 years: 41.8% showed a positive response, 66.6% for 25-34 years, 33.33% for 35-44 years, 48.8% for 45-54 years, 66.6% have shown a positive response. Others were either not sure, did not think their organization offered a supportive environment.

• More than 40% of the population amongst both the employees who have/don’t have children showed a positive response.

• 60% of the female employees showed a positive response and around 40% for the males. The analysis shows most of the employees are of the opinion that their organization does offer a supportive environment for taking paternity leave.

Is paternity leave important for Child-father bonding

• 79.6% of the total population was of the opinion that Paternity leave is an important factor for emotional bonding between a father and his child. 6.8% did not see any relation between the 2 factors whereas others were not sure.

• More than 50% of the respondents among all age-groups were in favor of the fact that paternity leave is an important factor for child father bonding.

• Majority of the respondents who have children and who don’t have children showed a positive response (paternity leave is important for father-child bonding).

• Majority of both the male and female respondents are of the opinion that Paternity leave is beneficial and important for childfather bonding.

Conclusions

A very few organizations in India have the concept of paternity leave policy and a lot of the employees are not aware of the existence of this concept.

• Maximum of the Indian corporate employees is of the opinion that there is a need for the existence of a concrete paternity leave policy in all organizations across the country.

• There have been mixed opinions of the duration for which the paternity leave should be taken by an employee. Some employees have been of the opinion that it should be the same that is given for maternity leave whereas others want it for 1 week or 1 month or a couple of months.

• Majority of the Indian corporate employees are of the opinion that men in India are unwilling to take a paternity leave. Female employee’s contrary male employees have been of the opinion that males will be willing to take a leave.

• One of the major reasons for unwillingness of male employees to take a paternity leave has been the fact that men do not want to be hands-on with the menial tasks of a baby. This also reflects that a certain part of the population of our country still thinks that it is only the women’s responsibility to look after a child and therefore there is no reason for which a paternity leave should be taken. Other main reasons are seen as social stigma, lack of knowledge about the concept of paternity leave, employer’s reaction and fear of losing out on bonus/promotions.

• Apart from the employees in the age group of 25-34 years, all others are of the opinion that the paternity leave offered to a male employee should be a flexible and not a compulsory concept.

• Around 40% of the Indian corporate employees have been of the opinion that there organization has fostered a supportive environment for them to take a paternity leave.

• Indian corporate employees are in favor of the fact that taking a paternity leave is extremely important for emotional bonding between a father and his child.

Thus, the above analysis reflects the perspectives of Indian corporate employees and their take on the concept of Paternity leave and through the analysis; it has been found that most of the employees are in favor of this concept. It is important for every organization to have a policy like this so that it increases the child-father bonding, so that a husband can support his wife as this concept will definitely improve gender equity at both- home and workplace and these leaves will provide a great advantage to working families, It is also important for organizations to inform their employees if there is any such policy during their induction as it was found that many were not aware if this policy was a part of their organization or not. There is a need for organizations to create a more supportive environment in which employees are not afraid or uncomfortable to ask for paternity leaves. There is a need for a more inclusive and flexible paternity leave policy which is balanced between both the parents and the needs of the child leading to a good parenting model as well as a progressive career for both the parents.

The ideal situation to implement change will be making paternal leaves compulsory and flexible. Men use the maternity leave window to further their careers and gain an edge over their female counterparts. The gap in remuneration could be chipped at if men and women received equal and compulsory paid leave, and this could also result in more women in corporate boardrooms. The flexibility of the policy should be regarding having the parents up to date with the weekly meetings and important deals so that they can resume work with a better idea of the work and situation.

REFERENCES

1. Nepomnyaschy L, Waldfogel J. Paternity leave and fathers’involvement with their young children. Community Work Fam. 2007; 10(4): 437-453.

   [Crossref] [Google Scholar]

2. Rehel ME. When dad stays home too: Paternity leave, gender, and parenting. SAGE journals, 2013;28(1): 110-132.

   [Google Scholar]

3. Petts JR, Knoester C. Paternity leave‐taking and father engagement. J Marriage Fam. 2018; 80(5):1144-1162.

   [Crossref] [Google Scholar]

4. Petts, JR, Knoester C, QiLi. Paid paternity leave-taking in the United States. Community Work Fam. 2018; 23(2):162-183.

   [Crossref] [Google Scholar] [PubMed]

5. Ramachandran DS, Kaur M.  Rules of maternity and paternity leave. J Manag Dev. 2019;10(1): 15-18.

   [Google Scholar]

6. Rege M, Solli, IF. (2010). The impact of paternity leave on long-term father involvement. CESifo Working Paper Series No. 3130, 2256-2277.

   [Crossref] [Google Scholar]

7. Cools S, Fiva JH,  Kirkebøen, LJ. Causal effects of paternity leave on children and parents.  Scand J Econ. 2015; 117(3): 801-828.

   [Crossref] [Google Scholar]

8. Månsdotter A, Lindholm L, Winkvist A. Paternity leave in sweden—costs, savings and health gains. Health Policy, 2007; 82(1):102-115.

   [Crossref] [Google Scholar] [PubMed]

9. Halverson C. From here to paternity: Why men are not taking paternity leave under the family and medical leave act. Wis Women's LJ. 2003;18(1):257-259.

   [Google Scholar]

10. OBrien M. Fathers, parental leave policies, and infant quality of life: international perspectives and policy impact. Ann Am Pol Soc. 2009; 624(1): 190-213.

    [Crossref] [Google Scholar] [PubMed]