Parental leave policies in Canada are designed for both parents, but fathers use them at roughly half the rate of mothers. From 2012 to 2017, Statistics Canada found 88 per cent of mothers took maternity leave, parental leave or a combination of the two, compared with 46 per cent of fathers.
When fathers do take leave, it is typically for shorter periods than mothers. One reason for this is a fear that doing so will harm their careers. But recent research, including our own, suggests this fear is often unfounded and that, under certain conditions, men may actually benefit from taking a longer leave.
