New fathers are more likely to be eligible for state paid parental leave programs but less likely to take the time off, leaving as much as $1.6 billion on the table annually in New York alone, according to a new report.
An analysis of such programs in New York, New Jersey and California revealed that mothers had lower eligibility rates due in part to lower labor force participation, according to the report Wednesday from McKinsey & Co. and Moms First, a gender equality nonprofit.
Still, they were more likely to use the programs. In New Jersey, for example, 44% of eligible moms used the state’s paid parental leave policy, compared to just 16% of eligible dads. Researchers analyzed 2022 state and federal government data to calculate the figures and spoke with more than 2,000 eligible parents in 2024 to understand why they did or didn’t take up the offer.
Depending on the state, unclaimed benefits ranged from $6,000 to nearly $10,000 per person. That amounted to more than $4 billion across the three states in 2022.
“There’s still cultural norms that tell us that caregiving work is for women,” said Reshma Saujani, chief executive officer of Moms First. “There’s still stigma that penalizes men for caregiving and actually taking leave. And the third thing is really affordability because you know that you’re only going to get a partial wage replacement should you take it.”
Read More: Here’s What No Paid Parental Leave in the U.S. Looks Like
According to the study, the reason new parents don’t take up the paid leave is varied; 59% said they didn’t know they were eligible while 73% of workers who earn less than $40,000 feared losing their job if they took the time off. More than two-thirds of men said they didn’t think taking leave was necessary because their partner would be doing so.
The report comes as efforts to guarantee maternity leave in the US have stalled. As of 2024, 13 states and Washington DC offer some form of paid time off when residents add to their families.
In total, around two in five eligible parents use the state paid parental leave programs, the report said. The figure doesn’t account for those who use their workplace benefit instead, though about 73% of civilian American workers don’t have access to paid leave through their jobs.
