(Non-)use of paternity leave in France and paternal presence standards (2002-2021)

Discover the third session of the seminar “Regards croisés sur la petite enfance” 2024-2025: (Non-)use of paternity leave in France and paternal presence standards (2002-2021).

The seminar looks at early childhood as a social, historical and cultural construct. Theories and knowledge relating to the conception, birth and development of children are analyzed in terms of their interactions with their environment and gender norms. Against this backdrop, the seminar will explore the boundaries of this age category and address the question of its temporality according to medical, international, anthropological or historical standards.

From its introduction in 2002 until its reform in 2021, the two-week paternity leave was an immediate success. Short, well-compensated and meeting contemporary standards of “good” paternity, all the conditions seemed in place to encourage its use. In this context, it's not so much the fathers who make use of these two weeks as those who waive their entitlement that raise questions. Who are the fathers who don't take paternity leave in France? How can this non-use be explained? Based on statistical surveys and repeated interviews with men before and after the birth of their child, this talk will present the characteristics of fathers who have not taken their leave, and trace the mechanisms underlying non-use. More broadly, she will discuss how the use of leave and the devaluation of non-users as “absent fathers” are particularly emblematic of current norms of “paternal presence”.

• Alix Sponton: post-doctoral researcher in Sociology at CRESPPA (Université Paris Nanterre) and INED, affiliated with CRIS (IEP de Paris).
• Discussant: Nathalie Sage Pranchere: historian (IRD)