Tripled paternity leave between 2013 and 2022, but in Trapani and Agrigento less than 30% utilize it.

Last Updated: March 18, 2024

Congedo di paternità triplicato fra 2013 e 2022, ma a Trapani e ad Agrigento fruizione sotto il 30%

In Italy, there is still a strong gender imbalance between parents in caring for their children, but the percentage of fathers who take advantage of paternity leave has more than tripled between 2013 and 2022. This emerges from the analysis carried out by Save The Children, on the occasion of Father’s Day, based on the latest INPS data.

In 2013, just under 1 out of 5 fathers (19.26%) took advantage of paternity leave, totaling 51,745 fathers; in 2022, more than 3 out of 5 fathers (64.02%) did so, totaling 172,797, with few differences depending on whether they are parents of the first, second, or subsequent child. At its introduction in 2012, paternity leave included one mandatory day and two optional days, whereas today it guarantees 10 mandatory days and one optional day to new fathers, and can be taken between two months before and five months after childbirth.

Although the increase is seen throughout Italy, those who use it the most live in the provinces of the North. Utilization rates below 30% are found in the provinces of Crotone at 24%, Trapani at 27%, Agrigento and Vibo Valentia at 29%, while rates above 80% are recorded in the provinces of Bergamo and Lecco (81% in both cases), Treviso (82%), Vicenza (83%) and Pordenone (85%). Men between the ages of 30 and 39 (65.4%) and between 40 and 49 (65.6%) are more likely to use paternity leave.

It is more likely that a father will take paternity leave if he works in a medium-large company. Among those with over 100 employees, the utilization rate is 77%, reaching 45.2% in companies with 15 employees or fewer. The largest increase in the use of paternity leave between 2021 and 2022 was recorded in this type of company (8.7%). There are significant inequalities between different types of employment contracts, in favor of those with more stable contracts. While the percentage is almost 70% (69.49%) among workers with permanent contracts, it drops to 35.95% among those with fixed-term contracts and 19.72% among seasonal workers.