Workplace Culture and Paternal Involvement in Childcare
Paternity leave policies alone do not necessarily close gender gaps in unpaid work, particularly where workplace cultures discourage uptake. We conduct a randomized controlled trial with over 1,100 male employees in four organizations to evaluate two workplace interventions: work-life balance training for employees and managers, and in-formation correcting misperceptions about colleagues’ attitudes toward paternity leave.
Training significantly increased fathers’ weekend childcare time and spousal labor sup-ply, especially among those with young children. Information provision reduced norm misperceptions but had limited behavioral impact. Our findings show that low-cost, employer-led interventions can complement policy by addressing cultural barriers to paternal engagement within the workplace.
