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Gay Fathers Receive Less Parental Leave Than Straight and Lesbian Couples

Same-sex female couples also lagged behind opposite-sex couples.

Gay fathers receive less parental leave than opposite-sex and lesbian couples, a recent study has found. Those who choose to spend more time at home with their children often struggle to pay household bills as a result of the disparity in paid time off.

Researchers at UCLA conducted the study by examining 33 member countries of the intergovernmental Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that offer paid leave to new parents, Reuters reports. They found that gay male couples received the same number of weeks off as opposite-sex couples in just 12% of those nations.

Lesbian couples fared better, but they too lagged behind opposite-sex couples, receiving equitable time off in just under 60% of those countries. The study did not include or address transgender and nonbinary couples.

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Mothers kissing their happy laughing child on both cheecks

According to the researchers, on average same-sex male couples had five fewer months of paid leave than opposite-sex couples. Meanwhile, same-sex females got three fewer months of paid parental leave compared to opposite-sex couples.

While most countries do not prohibit same-sex couples from taking paid leave to be with their children, policies were found to only reference the needs of opposite-sex couples.

Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, and Sweden were the only countries offering equal paid leave to all couples, which ranges from 18 to 70 weeks.

"A lot of the differences in leave stem from gender stereotypes where women are the primary caregivers," said lead author Elizabeth Wong. "That not only affects heterosexual couples, it greatly disadvantages same-sex male couples."

A report from the WORLD Policy Analysis Center released last year showed OECD countries offering six months paid parental leave saw an increase in the numbers of workers, and no change to unemployment or economic growth, while the Institute for Women’s Policy Research noted expanding paid leave resulted in a decrease in government spending on public assistance.

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