Where’s My Dad? A Feminist Approach to Incentivized Paternity Leave

This article examines paid paternal leave from a feminist perspective. First, this article aims to trace the history of gender roles in America and how the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was enacted to allow women to maintain roles in both the public and private sphere. Second, this article explores how gender roles began to shift and more fathers sought FMLA leave to care for their children. This gender shift caused numerous shortcomings in law and public policy.

This article will examine these shortcomings, compare various international paternal leave packages to each other, look to what deficiencies currently exist, and propose ways to rectify those deficiencies.