Will taking paternity leave stifle career growth? | Economic Times

There is a growing number of companies offering gender-neutral parental leave which encourages men to share child-care duties with partners. While that’s a progressive way of ensuring an equitable balance not only within the organisation but also in personal lives of individuals and the society at large, the moot question is how many men really take such leave?While more men are coming forward to take advantage of such policies, they are still a tiny fraction of the number of men who are eligible for this leave. Most are hesitant to take the leave in one go, and this could stem from the concern that doing so could hamper their career growth.Maternity, paternity, and parental leaveThe Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act of 2017 mandates that organisations must give women 26 weeks of fully paid maternity leave. Some organisations, mostly MNCs, have also begun offering paternity leave, which can range from one week to 24 weeks. A few companies have removed the gender binaries attached to maternity and paternity leaves and offer primary and secondary caregiver leave which determines the quantum of leave that the parent can avail of. Recently, Cyient, a global engineering, manufacturing and digital technology solutions company, announced a gender-neutral parental leave policy. Cyient employees, including birth and adoptive parents of any gender, can take up to 12 weeks of paid time off at full pay following the birth or adoption of their child. Diageo India, too, announced a “Family Leave Policy”, which offers employees a 26-week parental leave, irrespective of gender or sexual orientation.Krishna Bodanapu, MD & CEO, Cyient, says the idea behind offering such a leave was to make parental leave more equitable and inclusive. By offering a gender-neutral parental policy, Cyient wants to encourage men to participate more actively in parenting. “Earlier, I don’t think men took even the one-week paternity leave that was offered to them due to the apprehensions of being disadvantaged at the workplace. This policy is really about equitable parenthood that isn’t restricted by genes, gender, or geography. Only when people start utilising such policies in their true spirit and managers encourage their teams to take time off on becoming a parent is when we achieve inclusion,” says Bodanapu.Parental leave — or work from home?Experts believe most new fathers would like to take time off. But it’s another matter that even while on paternity leave, men may be glued to their phones and laptops for work. Nirmala Menon, CEO, Interweave Consulting, a diversity consulting firm, says: “A few years ago, even if the company offered longer paternity leaves, most dads didn’t use it fully. It would be interesting to see how many men use it fully now. With more women working and in nuclear homes, it is a clear expectation that their partners will contribute equally. My guess is that while women will use maternity leave at one stretch, men are more likely to take it in installments.”In several companies the parental leave can be availed by new fathers anytime within a year of becoming a parent. In Diageo India, the policy is applicable to all new parents, and can be availed by new fathers anytime within 12 months of the birth/ adoption of the child, thereby allowing the mother to better manage her career as well as other priorities. This is key as studies have revealed that such policies aid women workers in their careers. Maternity and child care are key reasons why women drop off the workforce, and if organisations want to retain their women talent to improve gender diversity, enabling men to take the time off and share child care responsibilities would be crucial.Encouraging engaged parentingSujaya Banerjee, CEO, Capstone People Consulting, says through such flexible policies, organisations are attempting to challenge conventional norms associated with motherhood, such as only women can be the primary-caregiver. “Most organisations claim that men, on being eligible, are availing this benefit but there are some organisations that say it is seldom used even if the policy exists. Overall 80-90% of eligible male employees do use the policy and the benefits offered so it appears its usage has certainly increased in recent years. Paternity leave is also mostly availed in a staggered manner after the birth/ adoption of the child,” says Banerjee.On why it’s important for organisations to encourage male employees to take the requisite parental leave offered to them, Bodanapu talks about both the implicit and the explicit here. “The explicit is really to encourage people to take the leave and tell them it’s the right thing to do. But it’s also implicit. For example, if somebody takes paternity leave in a particular year, it shouldn’t go against them when it comes to annual ratings. Because, otherwise, they’re going to be at a disadvantage as their productive hours could be lower. It is, therefore, quite important that those root causes are removed. These are the things that we are trying to address because the policy in itself is futile unless people believe it,” he says.Cyient is working on several activities, starting from raising awareness about the policy itself to advocate the benefits of the policy. Similar worries occupy the minds of women when they proceed on maternity leave. Progressive organisations have made amends to ensure women employees are rated on their performance on a pro rata basis.There is another reason why a growingnumber of organisations are offering better parental leave policies. The younger generation would join organisations that offer such leaves so that they can actively participate in important life stages, such as becoming a parent. “I have not only seen men taking this leave more easily than before but also making career choices to not compromise the quality of the experience. They are eager for their companies and jobs to allow them the flexibility to be the engaged dads they aspire to be. It is not the norm yet, but there are many young men that are setting new rules,” says Menon. Not only will this become a matter of new generation talent attraction and retention for an organisation, when visibly successful men take time off for parenting purposes, the current association of care being a “feminine” activity will begin to erode and companies would do well to promote them as role models, says Menon.As parental leave gains more acceptance, the goal posts for attaining gender diversity at work would perhaps begin to emerge out of the haze.