Revealed: the top industries for men taking parental leave

New dads have unfairly faced “ridicule” and “discrimination” for taking leave to care for their children – but the tide is turning.

Paid parental leave programs aimed at increasing gender diversity in the workplace have resulted in an encouraging – yet unexpected – uptake in dads accessing time off to care for young children.

Fifty-four per cent of all primary-carer parental leave in the mining sector is taken by men – the highest of any industry, according to the recently released 2024 Workplace Gender Equality Agency scorecard.

Two other fields also have a particularly high proportion of primary-carer parental leave accessed by men: the electricity, gas, water and waste services sector, and the public administration and safety sector.

The former includes truck drivers, electricians, civil engineers and rubbish collectors, and the latter is mainly made up of general clerks, police and prison officers, security guards and intelligence analysts.

The figures show the blokey culture typically associated with male-dominated sectors is becoming much more family friendly.

Overall, the number of men taking primary carer parental leave stands at 17 per cent, up three per cent on the previous year, the WGEA data shows.

Parents At Work chief executive officer Emma Walsh says the increase is an unintended, albeit welcome, result of introducing paid parental leave policies into male-dominated workplaces to attract more women workers.

There has been a significant uptake in dads accessing time off to care for young children.

Career discrimination

While the increase in men taking parental leave is still far short of aspirations for a 50-50 gender split, Walsh says it is a move in the right direction.

For far too long, men have been ostracised for taking leave to care for their children, she says, citing one instance where a boss sarcastically asked a male worker whether he needed the time off to breastfeed.

While the career ramifications of taking time off for caring responsibilities have been well documented for women, Walsh says there are also consequences faced by men.

“In my experience, men experience more overt career discrimination (for taking parental leave) than women,’’ she says.

“Men (who take parenting leave) are subject to quite a lot of ridicule for taking leave. It (caring for children) is not seen as the man’s role.

“That is changing with the generations … but it’s hard.

“Many men do feel vulnerable about (taking parental leave) because they often feel the pressure to be the primary earner and they don’t want to jeopardise their income.’’

She says while the onus for introducing parental leave lies with the government and employers, workers are encouraged to have input into the development of parental leave policies and “shop around’’ for jobs that offer universal parental leave for both parents.

Construction worker Daniel Moroney took extended paid leave to care for his daughter Frankie …

… and he’ll do the same for four-month-old son Angus.

Prioritising family

Construction worker Daniel Moroney, project manager with Multiplex Australasia, is planning to take four months leave – paid for by his employer – to care for four-month-old son Angus when his wife returns to her human resources role later this year.

He took similar leave to raise daughter Frankie, now three years old.

“Coming up from my early days in construction, there were still some (negative) stereotypes around (men) taking parental leave in my head … but everyone (at work) was very supportive,’’ Moroney says.

Multiplex has experienced a fourfold increase in the number of men accessing primary carers parenting leave compared to five years ago, which it says is evidence of the culture shift in how parenting responsibilities are viewed and shared.

The company recently launched a new gender-neutral parenting leave policy, extending the period of paid leave to 20 weeks for primary carers (representing an additional two weeks) and three weeks for secondary carers (up from two), with no minimum tenure required.

“It would have been a lot harder to do this if (the leave) wasn’t paid. But being paid made (taking parental leave) a no-brainer,’’ Moroney says.

“I definitely feel like it’s becoming more accepted and normal for men to not only take parental leave but to be able to prioritise your family and be home when you need to as well.’’

Changing culture

Supporting dads to take parental leave benefits the entire family, says WGEA chief executive officer Mary Wooldridge.

Benefits include creating stronger relationship bonds and enabling partners to return to the workforce if they wish to, with less disruption to their careers.

Research also shows fathers who take care of children in their early years are more likely to stay actively involved as their children grow up, picking them up from school and taking leave to care for them when sick.

While more work is needed to normalise men accessing parental leave, particularly for extended periods, Wooldridge says the scorecard shows “things are heading in the right direction’’.

“We would like those numbers to be higher but … generationally, there is a much greater expectation and desire for young men and women to parent equally. So I think the culture (around men accessing parental leave) is changing,’’ she says.

“Men and women should feel they can approach their employer about taking parental leave, that they will be supported to take it and that it won’t be career limiting.’’

The top industries for men taking parenting leave:

1. Mining: 54% of primary carer and universally available parental leave taken by men

2. Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services: 45%

3. Public Administration and Safety: 40%

4. Information Media and Telecommunications: 36%

5. Professional, Scientific and Technical Services: 34%

Source: WGEA

Originally published as Revealed: the top industries for men taking parental leave