More and more Dutch men take parental leave

More than one quarter of employees who were entitled to parental leave in 2004 actually took this leave. Although women take parental leave twice as often as men, the share of men taking this form of leave has risen from 9 percent in 2000 to 18 percent in 2004. The share of employees who receive payment during parental leave has also risen.

Four out of ten women take parental leave

In 2004 266 thousand employees were entitled to parental leave in the Netherlands. Some 73 thousand of them actually took this leave. Nearly three quarters postponed their leave or didn’t take it at all. The difference between men and women is substantial: nearly four out of ten women take parental lave while fewer than two in ten men do so.

Percentage of people taking parental leave

More men taking parental leave

Since 2000 the percentage of workers taking parental leave has risen. More and more men are taking this opportunity to care for their children: in 2000 only 9 percent of men took parental leave, by 2004 this had risen to 18 percent.

Paid leave encourages parents to take time off

In 2004 most people on parental leave received full or part payment during their absence. Paid leave seems to be an incentive for people to take this opportunity. Men on parental leave were more often paid ((62 percent) than women ((58 percent).

Percentage of people with paid parental leave

Increase in paid leave, especially for women

In 2000 fewer than half of people on parental leave were paid during their absence. The percentage of people with paid leave rose strongly - by 12 percent points - between 2000 and 2004, especially for women: from 43 to 58 percent. This is one of the reasons that the difference between men and women with regard to paid leave has diminished.

Ingrid Beckers and Clemens Siermann