Unilever, for one, offers paternity leave in many of the countries it operates in, according to Leena Nair, chief human resources officer of the firm. But, not enough men are taking advantage of the program.
“In the UK, for example, there’s a one-year parental leave, but 2% of men took it,” Nair says. “Socially and culturally, it has to change because you can put programmes into place, but cultures have to change and make it acceptable for men to be able to take this change.”
Companies hoping that men take full advantage of paternity leave may have to wait a long while. Nair anticipates that companies are “decades away” from paternity leave being as commonly accepted as maternity leave.