Paternity leave, once nonexistent, has gradually become more common. For example, the FMLA treats male and female parents symmetrically: employers covered under the FMLA must offer at least twelve weeks of unpaid leave to new fathers as well as new mothers. However, while many employers go above and beyond the FMLA-required minimum limits for female employees, the same is not true for male employees. For example, among the Institute for Women's Policy Research "Working Mother 100 Best Companies" - a set of employers that one would expect to be particularly friendly toward family leave issues - 93% offered paid maternity leave, while only 35% offered paid paternity leave. None of these employers offered more than six weeks paid leave for new fathers, while nearly 50% did so for new mothers. Another study, conducted in 2005, found that 54% of employers offered paid leave to new mothers, while only 12% offered (any) paid leave to new fathers. employers who offer maternity leave, 46% offered some paid leave to new mothers. Among employers who offered paternity leave, only 13% offered paid leave to new fathers. While the rising numbers of employers offering paternity leave surely encourage many men to take time off for a new child when they would not otherwise do so, the incentives are not as strong as they are for women so long as paternity leave programs remain less generous than similar maternity programs.

Furthermore, it is likely that even if paternity leave programs were both universal and as generous as maternity leave programs, men would still be less likely than women to take time off. For example, in Sweden, where employers are required to offer