Why fathers should take parental leave

I start parental leave this week and will be mostly gone until October, which means I have a relatively exclusive benefit.

By the numbers: Only 25% of all workers have access to paid family leave. And 11% of workers can't even take unpaid leave, Axios' Erica Pandey writes, citing the recruiting platform Zippia.

• After welcoming a new child, 76% of fathers return to work, full-time, in less than a week.

Why it matters: Workplace culture can be unforgiving to parents and a barrier to people having families.

Between the lines: Mothers are burdened by a lack of paid leave — and doubly burdened when fathers can't, or don't, take time off.

• Women who take long leaves are viewed as uncommitted to their jobs, which makes them less likely to get promoted in contrast to men, Harvard Business Review found.
• Mandating parental leave for fathers "could reduce the amount of time women are absent from work and also make it more normative for both men and women to use leaves."

💭 My thought bubble: I bought into toxic, anti-family culture in my 20s when I took pride in working harder and longer than other colleagues and looked down on people who left at 5pm to care for children.

• I was a jerk.

Reality check: Working full-time with a baby is the hardest thing I've done, and I can't keep up with my smug younger, childless self.

Yes, but: Balancing career and family is not a weakness — it gives me new perspectives that increase my value (for instance, now I know some things about pre-K).

What's next: Now, I'll spend my days seeing how my 3-month-old daughter, Meredith, smiles in the morning and watching her learn to roll over.

• Also, pushing her stroller all over town and telling her I love her a million times.

The bottom line: I'm thankful Axios understands the importance of this opportunity. I hope your organization does, too.