In December 2023, data became available from the public statistics database Jobindsats.dk for the first year of the earmarked parental leave. The figures show that the new fathers have been keen to embrace their paternity leave. From July 2022 to July 2023, the total number of people on parental leave was unchanged, but there were major differences between men and women. On a national level, the number of men on paternity leave increased by 40%.
“It’s interesting that we can already see such a large and noticeable increase in the number of fathers on paternity leave after just this first year. This suggests that the earmarked parental leave is something that people have actually embraced and are making use of,” says Senior Economist, Britt Dinesen Christiansen, and adds:
“It’s too early to say how much of a lasting effect the earmarked parental leave will have, but there are already signs that men will be playing a more prominent role. This is positive, both from an economic perspective and in relation to the sharing of tasks in the home. Over time, this can lead to changes in men’s and women’s levels of pay. And over the longer term, the fact that men are playing an increasingly bigger role on the domestic front can have implications for pension savings,” concludes Britt Dinesen Christiansen.
The data has been collected by Jobindsats.dk and shows new figures on parental benefit payments. The statistics now make it possible to monitor the more immediate developments in the numbers of women and men on parental leave. The earmarked parental leave was introduced on 2 August 2022, and it is particularly interesting to see how parents of children born after that date choose to use the earmarked leave and how they split the rest of the parental leave between them.
“The trend of men taking more paternity leave has been going on for a long time, but the earmarked parental leave has speeded up the pace of this trend .”
Britt Dinesen Christiansen, Senior Economist, Danica Pension
“It’s too early to say how much of a lasting effect the earmarked parental leave will have, but there are already signs that men will be playing a more prominent role. This is positive, both from an economic perspective and in relation to the sharing of tasks in the home. Over time, this can lead to changes in men’s and women’s levels of pay. And over the longer term, the fact that men are playing an increasingly bigger role on the domestic front can have implications for pension savings,” concludes Britt Dinesen Christiansen.
The data has been collected by Jobindsats.dk and shows new figures on parental benefit payments. The statistics now make it possible to monitor the more immediate developments in the numbers of women and men on parental leave. The earmarked parental leave was introduced on 2 August 2022, and it is particularly interesting to see how parents of children born after that date choose to use the earmarked leave and how they split the rest of the parental leave between them.
If you are interested to know how much it can cost to take parental leave and want to know how it will affect your pension savings, you can read more here.
