In a sign of growing domestic equality, the number of men taking paid family leave to bond with their babies and support their partners is up nearly 20 percent since the start of the pandemic. Stephanie O'Neill of KFF Health News has more.
Nearly 20-thousand more California fathers opted for paid leave last year compared to 2020. The number of mothers doing so, meanwhile, remained steady during that same period.
Experts say not only is a new generation of fathers more likely to embrace time off to bond with their babies, but also more employers are now normalizing such time off for male workers.
Last year, fathers filed 44 percent of bonding claims in the state. California has one of the nation's oldest family leave programs. It generally provides up to eight weeks of paid time off with new parents receiving up to 70 percent of their pay. Outside California, residents of most states don't have access to paid leave programs. Advocates continue to push for federal paid family leave using California as a model.