Japan Press Weekly

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2024 July 31 - August 6 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Paternity take-up rate hits record high, but fails to shrink gender gap in parental leave

Based on the latest Labor Ministry data, Akahata reported on August 2 that the percentage of male workers who became fathers and took parental leave in 2023 increased to a record high of 30.1% while that of women workers exceeded 80%. Despite the continued growth of men taking paternity leave, the gender gap in taking parental leave remains unchanged.

According to the ministry’s data released at the end of July, among male workers, those who took one month or more but less than three months of parental leave accounted for the largest part, at 28% followed by those who took five days or more but less than two weeks, at 22%. In the case of women workers, more than 90% took six months or more parental leave.

As factors involved in the slow progress in achieving gender equality in parental leave, Akahata pointed out that in addition to traditional gender roles and the gender pay gap, women are still much more likely than men to have to shoulder the childrearing burden.