Global paternity leave in four multinational corporations: a facilitator of paternal agency?

Abstract

In recent decades, the fatherhood ideal has evolved alongside the implementation of paternity leave schemes in the EU and other countries. The current study has been inspired by the recent introduction of a ground-breaking corporate policy, globally applicable paternity leave, in four multinational corporations (MNCs). Thematic analysis is applied to investigate fathers’ perceptions of such leave through interviews with employees in these pioneering MNCs who have availed themselves of the new benefit. The fathers work in the UK, the US, Brazil and Australia and have diverse cultural backgrounds. As a theoretical point of departure, literature on fatherhood, masculinity norms and national cultural differences in the context of fatherhood and work is discussed. The findings indicate that global paternity leave challenges embedded gendered work practices in MNCs and may lead to new ways of combining fatherhood and work. The study finds that the informants have a desire to be involved fathers and are ready to take time off work to care for their children when this is facilitated by their organizations and supported by peers. The paid global paternity leave policy offered by the four MNCs may thus be seen to extend male agency by acting as a facilitator of paternal agency.