Misperceptions about Fathers’ Parental Leave Taking

Abstract

Paternity leave, fathers’ parental leave, has been implemented in many countries. The uptake rate of paternity leave remains low in Japan, though the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act allows all employees, including men, to take parental leave. A possible reason for the low uptake rate may be misperceptions about others’ opinions. This study conducted an online survey with 300 men and women in their 20s, 40s, and 60s, asking them whether they approve or disapprove of paternity leave and asking them to guess the approval rate of other survey participants by gender and age group. We find the existence of misperceptions, showing that the average of the perceived approval rate of others (51.7%) is significantly lower than the actual approval rate (91.0%).We also find that for the older age group, the perceived approval rate is lower, and the magnitude of misperceptions is larger. Furthermore, the perceived approval rate is lower for men within the same age group. Additionally, the results reveal that men’s willingness to take paternity leave is positively associated with perceptions toward women in their 20s.