Encourage Fathers' Use of Paternal Leave in Vietnam: the Labor Contract Characteristics and Fathers' Behavior

• DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.8372243
• Publication Date: 2023-09-22
• Authors: Duc Trong Pham; Anh Cuong Ngo; Hai Hung Pham
• Keywords: 5. Gender equality; 8. Economic growth; Fathers' leave-taking, labor contract, leave period, maternity regime, paternal leave.

Vietnam reformed the maternity regime in 2014, in which male employees currently paying social insurance premiums whose wives give birth to children are entitled to a maternity leave of from 5 to 14 working days. This is widely regarded as a landmark reform that has shifted the Vietnam maternity regime toward a model that is more supportive of the compatibility of work and family life. In this paper, we show that fathers' leave-taking was only about 5,2% of total male employees currently paying social insurance premiums whose wives give birth, even when fathers are on leave period, they spend very little time with their children; despite drastic changes in gender norms in Vietnam, as well as short periods of leave, may have long-lasting effects on fathers’ involvement in newborn care and housework. We also find that groups of fathers, who are cadres and civil servants, as well as those with permanent working contracts profited more strongly from changing their behavior, while self-employment and temporary work lower fathers’ chances of taking leave. Finally, we make some compelling proposals to increase the number of fathers taking parental leave.