One of the early highlights of each year is the Grammy Awards. For the music connoisseur, an important moment to celebrate the pinnacle of music talent from the preceding 12 months. For the rest of us, a chance to revel in the glitz, glamour, and garish performances that make the occasion.
Some of my favourite aspects, however, are the titbits of musical trivia that often accompany the show. Take Beyoncé - she may now be the awards' most honoured artist but her first musical achievement came at the age of just seven, winning a talent show with a cover of John Lennon’s timeless classic, Imagine. Another interesting parallel between the two artists is how both John Lennon and Beyoncé’s husband – Jay-Z – agreed to take on the heavy lifting of parenting while their other halves went on to pursue their creative freedoms. In Yoko’s case her art, and in Beyoncé's embarking upon the Formation World Tour, which grossed over $250 million dollars by the end of 2016.
Having just become a father myself and returning to work from paternity leave, I was particularly intrigued by how attitudes have changed towards parenting in the intervening decades between the two artists. Technologically, our day-to-day lives are almost unrecognisable. But societally too, we have surely become more progressive in our attitudes towards our relationship to work and raising a family…haven’t we?
Mr Lennon himself was one of the early stay-at-home Dads – apparently baking bread and caring for his young son, Sean during his period of self-reflection. Not typically rock’n’roll and far from the norm at the time. In fact, in 1971 there wasn’t even statutory maternity leave provision for expectant mothers – this didn’t arrive until four years later – let alone time off given for fathers.
Today, thankfully, this is no longer the case. As a legal minimum in the U.K., mums to-be can expect up to 52 weeks of leave, and dads two weeks; although the latter was not widely accepted and formally legislated until the mid-noughties. Many employers choose to go beyond this of course, as was the situation in my case.
I was lucky enough to benefit from Edelman’s more progressive view to parenthood (I’m also the second new father in my team to take parental leave in 2022). By making their parental leave policies gender-agnostic several years ago, it enables all employees to take up to five months of parental leave on full pay, subject to the necessary legal eligibility criteria.
In the end I chose 12 weeks, which was the right length of time for our family. While sadly neither the children’s book I was planning to write nor the garden shed I was hoping to build came to fruition, it did allow me to bond with my daughter, and support my wife, in a way that would have been impossible otherwise.
Some people will need more time, some less, but the ability to choose depending on your family circumstances is important, as is having the backing of your employer to support you. It is a shame then, as I discovered when writing this article, that many organisations still have an antiquated view of fathers-to-be taking time off – particularly paid – when having a baby.
Worryingly, this is having a tangible impact on how families share the workload of looking after a new-born, with most of the burden still typically falling on women. According to recent HMRC figures, just 204,000 fathers claimed any form of paternity leave in the U.K. last year (2021-22). That is less than one-third of all those eligible.
But why is this important? Aside from denying both parents the opportunity to create a precious bond with their new arrival in those first few weeks and months of life, there are, in my view, a host of other potential opportunities being wasted.
From a business’ perspective, a more equitable parental leave approach demonstrates a clear investment in their employees. This can lead to a more engaged and loyal workforce, in addition to helping attract new candidates. More broadly, a cultural shift to viewing any gender as equally likely to take time off to have a baby has the potential to address some of the persistent drivers of the gender pay gap and help eradicate the so-called ‘motherhood penalty’ experienced by many women who have had a baby.
From an employee’s perspective, shared parental leave can help parents build a more equal relationship, with work and home responsibilities delegated more fairly from the outset. Several studies have also shown that more involvement from a father at the beginning of a child’s life can have long-lasting positive outcomes on their development.
As a new father, I can testify that what everyone says is true – it is a monumental, life-changing event. It surely makes sense therefore that employers should seek to support those involved, ultimately to the benefit of all parties. Sadly, there is still a long way to go, but there is hope. As in my case, businesses are beginning to challenge the traditional maternity/paternity model and explore new ways to allow their employees time away to begin a family, in whatever form that may take. I’m looking forward to seeing that become the norm, not the exception.
Ultimately, in the intervening years between Lennon and Beyoncé, much has changed, but we have a lot further to go. Let’s hope over the next 52 years we see more progress.
Rob Barlow is a Director in the London Health Team.