Paternity leave reinforces family stability and the equitable division of labor. By encouraging fathers to take part in early childcare, it strengthens family bonds and ensures children receive nurturing from both parents.
It supports the socialization process by involving fathers in caregiving, promoting shared responsibility in the family system.
Conflict perspectives
Access to paternity leave often highlights inequalities, particularly between different socioeconomic classes and employment sectors. While high-paying jobs may offer generous policies, working-class individuals may face barriers to availing or benefiting from such leave.
Patriarchal structures might resist paternity leave, perceiving it as a challenge to traditional gender roles where caregiving is predominantly viewed as women's work.
Feminist Perspective
Paternity leave policies are a step toward dismantling traditional gender norms by promoting equality in caregiving roles.
It challenges the "motherhood penalty" in workplaces by encouraging shared parenting responsibilities, potentially reducing the disproportionate career impact on women after childbirth.
Paternity leave is a father-specific right to take time off work soon after the birth of a child.
1.To defeat patriarchy (the culture of toxic masculinity that prevails in indian society)
2.Gender gap in labour laws ( legal lag - absence of law to support it + legal policies are reinforcing societal biases )
3.Triple burden on women ( gender division of labour perpetuates women subordination and prevents them from realizing thier full potential )
4.To promote gender equality ( increase gender equity at home at the workplace can promote parent child bonding)
5.changed family set up and helps to control population ( Reproductive Justice)
6.To defeat gender stereotypes ( indian society continues to see men as the breadwinner and women as the homemaker + it leads to breakdown traditional social attitudes)
7.Improve female labour force participation ( shared parenting + leads to greater gender equality at workplace)
8.Parental role socialization ( UNICEF: said when children positively interact with thier father's they have better psychological health, self-esteem and life-satisfaction in the long term )
9.Less violence in families where fathers have taken parental leave ( work life balance )
10.Mechanism of Social Change - Paternity leave acts as a structural intervention to reduce workplace discrimination, supporting broader gender parity goals ( Family oriented Policies)
Until men have equal opportunities to be caregivers there will be an inevitable pressure on women to bear the bulk of responsibilities around the household.
