Dads Should Take Paternity Leave. Here’s Why
Until men are as involved in childcare as women, moms will continue to take a pay hit.
Ever since Alexis Ohanian’s daughter was born two years ago, his Instagram account has featured a steady diet of dad content. He’s kissing his daughter, blowing zerberts on her stomach, feeding her mushy food, flopping exhausted on the floor—a routine that will look familiar to a lot of new parents. But as the co-founder of Reddit and the husband of Serena Williams, Ohanian’s performative fatherhood is also a social and political statement.
Among men who have access to paid parental leave, most don’t take full advantage, and Ohanian wants to change that. “Let's be real,” he said on this week’s episode of The Pay Check. “Of all the things we're asking men to do, spending some time with their newborn and their partner is not the hardest thing.”