Parental leave deepens gender divide as mothers take 400+ days off—fathers just 9

Mothers Take Far Longer Parental Leave Than Fathers After First Child, Study Finds—Even Among the Highly Skilled

After the birth of a first child, it is overwhelmingly women who take parental leave, while fathers rarely do, according to a new study by researchers at the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW). Published in the journal Comparative Population Studies, the findings reveal that even highly qualified mothers interrupt their careers for extended periods—whereas fatherhood has little impact on men's employment trajectories, regardless of their qualifications.

Sonja Spitzer and Claudia Reiter of the ÖAW's Institute of Demography set out to examine how career paths evolve after the arrival of a first child. Their analysis drew on an innovative linkage of Austrian administrative data, combining records of 5,130 individuals born between 1942 and 1997 (residing in Austria) from the birth register with daily employment histories from 2009 to 2022. They then cross-referenced this data with results from standardized competency tests in the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), often dubbed the "adult PISA."

Linking Administrative and Skills Data

Conducted by the OECD in 31 countries, PIAAC assesses the everyday and workplace skills adults need to navigate daily life. The researchers focused on numeracy skills, which they argue are "closely linked to employment and wages, provide a more precise measure of job-relevant abilities than formal education, and contribute significantly to the gender pay gap," as noted in their study.

The data shows that, on average, mothers take 416 days of paid parental leave after their first child—compared to just nine days for fathers. This stark disparity persists regardless of whether parents have high or low professional competencies.

Low-Skilled Mothers Face the Longest Career Breaks

Many mothers also stay home beyond the paid leave period. "Low-skilled mothers, in particular, remain out of the labor market for especially long stretches," Spitzer explained in an ÖAW press release. While highly qualified women return to work somewhat sooner, they too often face prolonged career interruptions and re-enter the workforce part-time. Some also use Bildungskarenz (educational leave) to extend their time at home with their child.

For fathers, by contrast, the transition to parenthood has almost no effect on their employment. Differences in skills play little role; even highly qualified men rarely take parental leave. On average, they take just 12 days of paid leave, with low-skilled fathers taking only four.

Reinforcing Traditional Gender Roles

These patterns hold consistently across social groups, irrespective of education level, migration background, or place of residence. While the researchers acknowledge that generous parental leave policies provide financial security and flexibility, they also warn that such measures can entrench traditional divisions of labor.

"Policymakers often propose boosting female labor force participation to address demographic change and skill shortages," said Reiter. "But this overlooks a critical point: even generous leave policies won't suffice as long as societal norms push mothers out of the workforce for extended periods." She argues that the discussion must shift toward "redistributing care work, increasing fathers' involvement, and expanding early childhood care."