The Economics of Fatherhood and 

Work

Council of Economic Advisers

June 9, 2014

1
There has been a large shift as women have entered the workforce

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

2

40

50

60

70

80

90

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Labor Market Participation of Women, Age 25-54

Percent
All parents are working in more than 

60 percent of families with children 

Source: CEA calculation from Current Population Survey

Note: Mother and father includes biological, step or adoptive parents.

3

30

40

50

60

70

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Percentage of Families with Children Under 18 in Which all 

Percent Parents Work
Father-only families have gone from 1 percent of families in 1970 to 

7 percent of families today

Source: Census Bureau

Note: Mother and father includes biological, step or adoptive parents.

4

89

68

10

25

1

7

0

20

40

60

80

100

1970 2013

Living Arrangements of Families with Children under 18

Two Parents Mother Only Father Only

Percent
The number of stay-at-home fathers 

has doubled in the last 25 years

5 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Note: A stay-at-home parent is one who is not in the labor force. Unemployed workers are not included.

20

24

28

32

36

40

0

4

8

12

16

20

1986 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011

Percent of Stay-at-Home Parents with Children Under 18

Percent with Stay-at-Home Father Percent with Stay-at-Home Mother

Mother Works, Stay-at-Home 

Father (Left Axis)

Father Works, Stay-at-Home 

Mother (Right Axis)
Due to increases in the time spent on housework and childcare, 

fathers now have less free time

6

0

15

30

45

60

1965 2012

Fathers' Average Weekly Time Use

Hours Per Week Spent on Activity

Childcare (2.5)

Housework (4.4)

Paid Work (42.0)

Childcare (7.1)

Housework (8.8)

Paid Work (38.5)

48.9

54.4

Source: Bianchi, et al., 2006; CEA analysis of 2012 American Time Use Survey

Note: Fathers are defined as adult men ages 18-64 with children under 18. 
Fathers are reporting more work/family conflict

7

35

60

41

47

30

40

50

60

70

1977 2008

Percentage of Mothers and Fathers Reporting Work/Family Conflict

Fathers in 

Dual-Earner Couples

Mothers in 

Dual-Earner Couples

Source: 2008 NSCW, FWI and 1977 QES, Department of Labor

Percent
Like women, many men lack access to paid leave that would 

allow them to better balance work and family

8

Source: CEA analysis of 2011 American Time Use Survey; SHRM Employer Survey

0

20

40

60

80

Any Reason Illness (Own) Illness (Family) Birth of Child Childcare Eldercare

Men's Access to Leave by Reason

Paid Leave Unpaid Leave

Percent

• 29% of men have NO access to leave of any kind for birth of a child.

• 22% of men have NO access to leave of any kind for a family member’s illness.

• An employer survey suggests that only 15% of organizations offered a formal paid 

paternity leave program, down from 17% in 2010.

• Almost half of men report that they cannot change their starting and quitting time.
Men are more likely than women to report that they cannot take 

leave because they have too much work 

9

32%

10%

19%

22%

14%

20%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Couldn't take leave

because too much work

Couldn't take leave

because fear loss of job

Couldn't take leave

because couldn't afford it

Reason Why Men and Women Cannot Take Time Off when They 

Need It

Male Female

Source: CEA analysis of 2011 American Time Use Survey
There is a strong business case for policies that allow for greater 

workplace flexibility

10

Studies show that work-life balance policies such as paid leave and workplace 

flexibility:

• Increase employee morale and productivity. Employees at businesses that 

lack work-life balance policies report lower job satisfaction, lower 

engagement and worse morale. Researchers have found that companies with 

low employee morale have stock returns that are 20 percent lower. (Henry 2009; 

Sirota, Mischkind, & Meltzer 2005)

• Lower worker turnover. Employee turnover costs firms an average of 20% of 

the employee’s annual salary – and more than 200% for executive level 

positions. (Baughman, DiNardi, & Holtz-Eakin 2003; Boushey & Glynn 2012)

• Increase shareholder returns. Immediately after Fortune 500 companies 

announced new work-life balance policies, their stock prices rose an average 

of 0.36 percent indicating that investors view these policies as profitable 

investments. (Arthur 2003)

• Are associated with good management and business success. A study of 700 

firms found that these policies are linked to business competitiveness, even 

after controlling for differences across companies. (Bloom, Liang, Roberts, & Ying 2013)
State paid family leave policies are successful 

and employers do not report burdens

11

• California and New Jersey provide 6 weeks of paid family leave while Rhode 

Island provides 4 weeks of paid leave, all funded through temporary disability 

insurance contributions.

• Studies of California’s paid leave program found that it:

• Benefited workers’ careers. Compared to recent mothers in states 

without paid leave, mothers in California were more likely to return to 

work and earn a higher income after taking paid leave. (Rossin-Slater, Ruhm, & 

Waldfogel 2013)

• Was not overused. Although some businesses were initially concerned 

about workers using benefits when it was not necessary, over 90 percent 

of businesses surveyed after implementation reported that this was not 

an issue. (Appelbaum 2011)

• Did not hurt businesses. 9 out of 10 surveyed businesses reported that 

the paid leave law had either no effect or a positive effect on profitability, 

turnover, productivity, and morale. (Appelbaum 2011)