Paternity leave has not boosted rate of parents having more than one child: NUS study

SINGAPORE: A new local study has found that paternity leave alone may not be enough to persuade couples in Singapore to have more children, with fathers who took leave after the birth of a child found to be no more likely to go on to have a second or third child than those who did not take leave.

The research was led by paediatric professor Jean Yeung from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore and analysed data from 1,835 households involved in the Singapore Longitudinal Early Development Study.

According to the findings, there was no statistically significant difference in the likelihood of couples having another child regardless of whether fathers took one week of paternity leave, two weeks of leave, or none at all.

The study examined families with children born between May 2013, when paternity leave was first introduced in Singapore, and 2019. This was before the Government doubled paid paternity leave from two weeks to four weeks in January 2024 and made the entitlement mandatory in April 2025.

Among the fathers surveyed, about 24% took one week of paternity leave, while around 48% used the full two weeks available at the time. The remaining 28% did not take paternity leave at all.

Prof Yeung said the findings contrast with trends observed in Nordic countries, where fathers taking parental leave have been associated with higher birth rates.

She suggested that Singapore’s relatively short duration of paternity leave may partly explain the difference, noting that countries such as Norway offer parental leave that can extend up to a year.

“One possibility is that two weeks is still too short to change meaningfully a couple’s intention to have another child,” she told The Straits Times.

Prof Yeung also pointed to entrenched gender norms in Singapore that continue to position mothers as the primary caregivers.

At the time of the study, mothers were entitled to 16 weeks of maternity leave while fathers received only two weeks of paternity leave. She said this unequal allocation reinforces traditional caregiving expectations within families.

Despite high female participation in the workforce, women continue to shoulder the majority of domestic and caregiving responsibilities, she noted.

“This unequal division of labour may increase the opportunity costs associated with having additional children for women,” Prof Yeung said.

The study also identified disparities in paternity leave uptake across different occupations. Fathers working as machine operators, assemblers and cleaners were found to be less likely to take paternity leave.

Higher-income households were also more likely to have a second child, while mothers holding a bachelor’s degree or higher were less likely to go on to have a third child.

Beyond leave policies, Prof Yeung highlighted broader workplace and cultural barriers that may discourage fathers from taking a more active role in childcare.

She said long working hours and male-dominated workplace cultures could discourage fathers from taking leave and reduce their involvement at home.

“Such institutional and cultural constraints may reduce families’ perceived capacity to balance work and family responsibilities, ultimately weakening their willingness or ability to have additional children,” she said.

The study called for more substantial changes beyond leave entitlements alone, including longer paternity leave, stronger gender equality, more flexible work arrangements and wider cultural acceptance of fathers taking leave and sharing caregiving responsibilities.

Prof Yeung welcomed Singapore’s recent move to double paternity leave and introduce 10 weeks of shared parental leave but noted that current figures show about half of fathers are still not taking paternity leave.

She said employers also play a critical role in shaping attitudes towards fatherhood and caregiving.

“A message must also be sent to employers to promote acceptance of fathers taking leave alongside expanding flexible working arrangements,” she said.

“Supporting work-family balance for both parents may increase fathers’ opportunities to engage in daily caregiving.”

She added that fostering more gender-egalitarian workplace cultures could help normalise active fatherhood and encourage a more equal sharing of childcare and household responsibilities.