This op-ed was originally published in The Straits Times on 15 February 2023.

I cheered – alongside, I imagine, parents across Singapore – when Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong announced that government-paid paternity leave would be doubled from the current two weeks to four weeks.

These additional two weeks will first be voluntary for companies to adopt, then later made mandatory.

But they represent the most generous allowance yet for fathers in Singapore: Paternity leave was introduced only in 2013, enabling fathers to spend a week with their newborns. That period was subsequently doubled in 2017.

A boon for fathers, mothers and children alike

Increasing paternity leave benefits not only fathers, but also their spouses and children. Starting with the obvious, more leave empowers fathers to be more involved in their children’s care and gives them more time to pick up childcare skills.

In a 2020 local qualitative study by the Institute of Policy Studies, working fathers expressed concern that two weeks was too short for them to meaningfully contribute to caregiving after a child’s birth. This was particularly so for new fathers, who need more time to adapt to their new role.

Doubling the leave quantum should, hopefully, exponentially improve these fathers’ parenting abilities, making them happier and more capable members of a household.

After all, a 2021 McKinsey study found that all 130 new dads and their partners surveyed across 10 countries (including Singapore) were glad that they took paternity leave and want to do so again.

Second, greater paternal involvement also has profound benefits for a child.

A 2021 local study by the National University of Singapore found that children whose fathers take paternity leave when they are born are significantly less likely to face issues such as hyperactivity or anti-social behaviour.

These families also experience less internal conflict, a lower likelihood of maternal depression, more marital satisfaction and father-child closeness.

Third, greater parental involvement from fathers should reduce the caregiving load typically shouldered by women, and enable women to participate in the workforce at higher rates.

On average, women constitute 95 per cent of persons outside the labour force annually due to family responsibilities. Providing longer paternity leave will help narrow this gap and encourage women to return to work after having children.

Baby steps now, greater leaps to come?

However, there are some ways to go before paternity leave is where it should be. For one thing, the voluntary provision may not contribute to a significant improvement in the immediate months to come, since the policy kicks in only for babies born in January 2024 and after.

More importantly, a disparity remains between the paid leave quantum for working mothers and fathers.

While fathers can soon take up to eight weeks of paternity leave (that is, with an additional four weeks of parental leave under the Shared Parental Leave scheme), this is still just half of the full 16 weeks of leave their wives would otherwise enjoy.

This disparity perpetuates the idea that women should bear the onus of caregiving – since, as the argument goes, only mothers breastfeed. Yet, parenting involves far more extensive duties beyond nursing a child at the bosom. Childcare involves teamwork to care for an infant and deal with new stressors while juggling a host of other household responsibilities.

The burden of care work often interferes with women’s ability to engage in paid work, which results in many either reducing their work hours or leaving the labour force entirely.

Statistics from the Ministry of Manpower have shown that women with children suffer a “motherhood penalty”: They have the lowest labour force participation rates and incomes compared with childless women and men. In a society that values gender equality, this is unacceptable.

Moving towards truly gender-equal households

It is not uncommon for working fathers to face social stigma around taking paternity leave, which is partly to blame for the relatively low take-up rates.

Only slightly more than half of dads took paternity leave in 2019, according to the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s latest figures.

Such gender role stereotypes remain pervasive in Singapore, with a 2020 national survey conducted by Blackbox finding that more than six in 10 respondents agreed that women are better suited for caregiving roles than men.

Beyond personal efforts by parents, companies, too, should encourage greater use of paternity leave rather than punish men for being more involved at home. Companies should give their complete assurance that full utilisation of the leave will not affect new fathers’ performance reviews or career progression. Companies can also monitor the paternity leave take-up rate to tailor their strategies in encouraging new fathers to utilise their leave.

One such strategy is modelling. Those in senior management – not just in the business sector, but also in the civil service – should lead the way by taking the full four weeks themselves, thus encouraging other fathers.

Ultimately, we cannot stop here. For “paternal involvement to be a norm in our society”, as DPM Wong laudably intends, our societal perception of parenting as a whole needs to shift.

I look forward to the day when paternity leave is fully equalised with maternity leave, and childcare becomes a responsibility shared equitably between genders.

Corinna Lim

Executive Director, AWARE