Giving men longer paternity leave reduces sexism and gender bias, a new study by a US university professor has revealed.
Researchers found that families and dads who received more parental leave saw an increase in belief in gender equality among both men and women. They also discovered that the change raised support among women for pro-female policies, such as requiring political parties to field more female candidates at the expense of male candidates.
Those who were not directly affected did not have any attitude change. In Estonia, a policy reform has tripled the amount of time dads’ get off after their child is born.
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The new policy affects all fathers whose babies were born on or after 1 July, 2020. Researchers studied the attitudes of just over 1,300 parents who were and who were not affected by the new policy.
They interviewed 750 new mothers and 612 new fathers on a rolling basis through the year of 2020. They found that families and dads who received more parental leave saw an increase in belief in gender equality among both men and women.
They also discovered that the change raised support among women for pro-female policies, such as requiring political parties to field more female candidates at the expense of male candidates. The results show that extended paternity leave, implemented in Estonia in June 2019, helps weaken traditional gender roles and sexist attitudes.
Study author, Dr Jonathan Homola, an assistant professor of political science at Rice University in Houston, US, said: “Offering parents the choice of extended fathers’ leave led to a sizeable increase in gender-equitable attitudes, which suggests that social policy has the power to reduce ingrained attitudinal biases.
“We hope this study will show governments and organisations how direct exposure to progressive social policies can weaken sexist attitudes and be a practical and effective tool to reduce harmful biases.”
The study was published in the journal American Political Science Review.
