by Parenting Out Loud | Jul 14, 2026 | Uncategorized
171 UK employers now offer equal parental leave. That means all parents, regardless of gender, family structure or route to parenthood, get the same amount of paid time off when they welcome a new child. 82 of them offer at least 6 months of fully paid leave.
We have worked with Inspiring Dads to bring together a full list of every employer we know of that offers this policy.
Equal parental leave changes things. It gives dads the time and permission to be fully present from the start. It means mums are not left to recover and care alone. It helps families share the load more fairly from day one, which shapes how they share it for years to come.
It is good for businesses too. Employers who support shared parenting see stronger retention, better recruitment outcomes and higher engagement. And when both parents can take meaningful time off, it helps close the gap between how mothers and fathers are treated at work, tackling one of the root causes of the gender pay gap.
The employers on this list are leading where government has not. The current statutory offer for dads is just 2 weeks of paternity leave, paid at £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower (GOV.UK, April 2026). That is less than half of what a full-time worker on the national living wage would earn. According to the TUC, 1 in 5 dads do not take any paternity leave at all, with affordability the biggest barrier.
This list exists because transparency matters. Too many parents have no idea what parental leave an employer offers before they accept a job or start a family. Making this information visible helps parents make informed choices and shows other employers what good looks like.
While the UK’s statutory paternity offer remains one of the least generous in Europe, these employers are not waiting for government to act. They are leading the way.
If your employer offers equal parental leave and is not on this list, let us know.
by Parenting Out Loud | Jun 10, 2026 | Uncategorized
49% of dads say care is shared equally. Only 21% of mums agree.
Today we are publishing The UK’s Equal Parenting Report 2026, the first national picture of how parenting is actually shared in the UK and the workplace cultures that shape it. The headline finding tells you what kind of report it is. 49% of UK dads say they share care equally with their partner. Only 21% of UK mums agree.
That gap is what we call the perception gap. Mums and dads are not looking at the same household. The invisible caring load, the planning, anticipating and organising that keeps a family running, is largely invisible to the parent who is not doing it. And it is not the only number that should land hard.
- 72% of mums say they do more than 60% of the parenting. Only 15% of dads say the same.
- 53% of mothers say their career has been negatively affected since becoming a parent. Only 14% of fathers say the same.
- Almost 1 in 8 mothers have left paid work altogether since becoming a parent.
- 70.5% of dads say six weeks of paid paternity leave would have made a positive difference to their wellbeing, mental health or ability to parent equally. Only 5.6% actually got it.
From the wider research:
- £12.8 billion in net benefit to society every year if we extended paid paternity leave to six weeks at 90% of salary. Around £10 returned for every £1 spent. (Institute for Policy Research, University of Bath, 2025)
What the report shows
The report draws on new YouGov polling we commissioned in March 2026, with a sample of 9,438 UK adults, alongside the strongest existing research from the ONS, Working Families, Pregnant Then Screwed, the Fatherhood Institute, the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Bath, Deloitte, Vodafone, CIPD and others.
It makes the case for equal parenting and the Parenting Out Loud workplace cultures we need to make it real. And it sets out what government, employers and all of us can do about it. The losses are everyone’s, and so is the answer.
Whether you are a parent navigating equal parenting at home, an HR leader shaping the workplaces parents return to, a dad network lead, a policymaker, or simply someone who believes this matters, this report is for you.
Join us live today
We are launching the report at 12pm today, live on LinkedIn. The event runs from 12pm to 1pm and will include:
- A presentation of the full 2026 Equal Parenting Report.
- A live Q&A with Leah Ruppanner, internationally recognised expert on the mental load, gender equality and unpaid care.
- A panel discussion with dual-income couples talking honestly about balancing work, care and family life.
What you can do today
Download The UK’s Equal Parenting Report 2026.
Join us live at 12pm on LinkedIn.
And then share the report. Tag a colleague who shapes parental leave at your workplace. Send it to the dads in your life. Post your favourite stat with #ParentingOutLoud and #EqualParenting. The conversation about who does what at home is moving from a private negotiation between mum and dad to a national one about the kind of country we want to be.
by Parenting Out Loud | Apr 24, 2026 | Uncategorized
With Equal Parenting Week on the horizon and my brother and his wife recently welcoming twin boys, I’ve been reflecting on how the bond you form with your kids is affected by the decisions you make about the way you work and the flexibility you are able to access.
I’m Illen and I live in Scotland with my wife and two daughters aged 3 and 5. I’ve spent almost the entirety of my career working in professional settings within charities and businesses, at first based in London and then, since 2020, remotely. Currently I am the Global Social Impact Manager at a large, international travel management company.
My brother is about to face exactly the decisions I wish I’d made differently. Here are my reflections — I hope they help you make the right decisions for you.
Your bond with your children is formed early — so think carefully about how you plan your work
My eldest daughter was born in 2020 and when she came along I was unemployed. Not ideal. And not just temporarily unemployed but 8 months into unemployment. I had been made redundant just before the pandemic lockdowns began and so not only did I not get much of a redundancy package but I did not benefit from furlough and job opportunities became very scarce.
As is so often the case in life it ended up benefitting me in ways I couldn’t have imagined. I was able to spend three months with my daughter before I went back to work. Once I did go back to work I was working for a charity (shout out charities for their flexible working policies!) and I worked compressed hours with a day off each week. The upshot was that I was able to form a true bond with her thanks to the dedicated time off initially and the fact that I had a whole day with her each and every week, something that continued until she was 3 years old.
The flexible working schedule I had meant I was able to play as close to an equal parenting role with my wife as I was able to without personally breastfeeding. I’m convinced that the close relationship I have with my eldest is a direct result of that time.
Insight 1: Flexible working isn’t just about helping out with drop off and pick up — it can mean dedicated time to make core memories with your child. That stays with you forever.
By the time my youngest came along in 2022 things were very different. I was working for a small-ish business and I was only due the statutory two weeks’ leave. What a comedown! Luckily, my employer at the time offered unlimited annual leave and so I was offered an additional two weeks of paid leave meaning I had four weeks in total. While I was very lucky, I felt slightly cheated given the incredible three months I had had with my eldest. The other contrasting factor was that I was working full time, five days a week.
Now my youngest is three-and-a-half years old I am slightly haunted by the what-ifs and the moments and memories we might have had had I had longer with her during paternity leave and afterwards through a more flexible working arrangement. That is probably overstated but the cliché is so true: they’re only little for such a short period of time and you only get one go round. Which brings me on to insights two and three:
Insight 2: Choose your employer carefully. If there’s even a sniff of you expecting children in the upcoming months or years then make sure you check out their paternity leave policies. I wish I had.
Insight 3: One day out of a working week over a three-year period is approximately 138 days. While you may not be looking to take a full day out each week, it just shows you the potential for core-memory making time.
Working from home is an absolute game changer
By far and away the most impactful thing I have done in the five or so years since becoming a parent has been to work from home. It’s something I’ve spoken to fellow dads about in my current company and I know they feel the same.
When I was young I didn’t see my dad much growing up. He’d already left for work by the time I’d woken up and usually would return home after I had gone to sleep. Most family holidays were with my mum and when I look back at photos from these trips my dad is in very few of them.
Working from home means I am there to see them off to school — when your children often need support the most — and to welcome them home and hear about how their day has been. There is nothing better when you’re having a tough day than seeing your child come home from school with a spring in their step, excited to show you the twig they picked up in the playground.
Insight 4: Being physically present — even just in the background — is something you can never get back. Working from home puts you in the frame, literally and figuratively.
The 5 Year Career Gear Strategy
With this experience under my belt, I recently felt ready to give some much needed (unsolicited) advice to my younger brother. It centres on what I (just) christened my 5 Year Career Gear Strategy — and it’s what I wish I had done with my career in the first five years of my kids’ lives.
Why five years? This is broadly speaking the time you have with them before they start school and you’ll be limited to school holidays for your bonding time with them — forever.
If you’re a dad thinking about how to co-parent while making the most of this incredible period, here’s how I’d think about it.
0–1 years (Pre-nursery)
Career gear: First or Second
You’ll sleep least, form early bonds with your child and begin the habits that dictate parenting responsibilities for years to come. It’s seat of the pants time so you’ll need to be on your toes and be prepared for the unexpected. For your partner, it’s an intense time from a physical and psychological point of view so you’ll need to be there for them too.
The move: Don’t plan your career-defining moments during this time. Take the maximum paternity leave available to you and consider a role where, at the very least, you know you’ll have an understanding manager should you need to take time out at short notice.
1–4 years (Early years / Nursery)
Career gear: Third or Fourth
Your partner may go back to work (or not). You’ll hopefully get a little more sleep, a little more routine and a little more ‘me’ time while they’re at nursery. A big chunk of your pay packet will mysteriously disappear and will be replaced with various viral infections, germs and bugs of all kinds.
The move: If you want to work part-time, now may be the best time — you can take your child out of nursery (saving on fees) and start making those core memories on your day off. You can begin laying the groundwork for that promotion, but all round you’ll hopefully be able to give a little more to your work. This is when having a work from home or hybrid role is going to be most important.
And don’t forget to start parenting out loud at work!
5 years+ (School begins)
Career gear: Fifth
School starts. Suddenly you’re not able to take your kid out at a moment’s notice for that spontaneous trip and you’re limited to holidays during very expensive half-term times. You may want the flexibility to do school drop off and pick up and an inflexible working arrangement will mean you get neither.
The move: Go for that promotion, start that business or new initiative. This is when things hopefully become a little more affordable once they leave nursery. But working from home is still majorly important — and having an honest conversation with your partner about what both of you want from your careers becomes critical. Who will do drop off and pick up? Who is taking them to which school club on which days? The flexibility each of you has will dictate the answers, but making sure you’re both happy with that arrangement is key. No one wants to feel forced into a parenting responsibility simply because the other person’s workplace culture is poorly suited to being a parent.
Many dads reading this won’t have the luxury of selecting their next role with all of this in mind. But if you take one thing from Equal Parenting Week: the decisions you make about how you work in the first five years of your child’s life are decisions you will never get the chance to make again. Make them count.
by Parenting Out Loud | Apr 23, 2026 | Uncategorized
Ahead of Equal Parenting Week, we worked with YouGov to examine the reality of equal parenting in the UK. The findings are stark. Our research found that dads are more than twice as likely (49 percent) as mums (21 percent) to say they are in an equal-parenting household.
Speaking to 2,000 mums and dads, the report uncovered the invisible caring load, revealing a huge imbalance in parenting across households in the UK, with mums doing the lion’s share. This imbalance is directly impacting mothers’ careers at a much faster rate than dads’, causing the majority of mums (53%) careers to be negatively impacted (having their working hours reduced/ decreased responsibility) after becoming a parent, compared to just one in seven dads (13%).
The stats show that mothers’ careers are being impacted at 4 times (53% vs 13%)the rate of fathers, resulting in nearly 1 in 8 mothers stepping back from paid work entirely.
But this doesn’t work for dads either. On average, dads’ salaries will increase as their kids grow up, but this comes at a cost. Dads want to embrace equal parenting and have a close relationship with their children, but are often stuck in a traditional provider role, which means they have disproportionate pressure to be present at work and are often expected to prioritise work over family life. This can be devastating for life satisfaction and the mental health and wellbeing for dads.
The research comes ahead of Equal Parenting Week – our national awareness week designed to shine a light on the benefits of equal parenting, by bringing parents, campaigners and politicians together to discuss the issues that are driving inequality in parenting.
We are calling for a systems change. One that supports dads to be equal parents from the very beginning of their child’s life, so they can truly share the load. And this means better paternity leave and flexible working for all parents.
Elliott Rae, Founder of Parenting Out Loud and Equal Parenting Week, comments, “Dads want to be equal parents, they want to be involved parents today more than ever before. But this data shows a glaring difference between perceptions and reality of equal parenting in the UK. But the blame is on the system – one that tells dads to provide and mums to care, rather than supporting the family to share the care in a way that works for them. At the moment, it’s not working for anyone, and it’s no surprise that working parents are at their wits’ end, relationships are strained and more young people are deciding not to have children at all.”
A third of families (35%) say they are on an equal footing with parenting, but 72% of mums say they do more than 60% of the parenting duties, and just 15% of dads say the same. Not only is this causing mothers’ careers to shrink – and, in some cases, end entirely – but it is also slowing progression.
Dads are more than twice as likely as mums (24% compared to 11%) to say that their career continued to progress at the same rate or faster than when they became a parent.
What it looks like when couples work on equal parenting
Some couples are actively working hard to make equal parenting happen. Like Michael Wilkins, a dad of 2 aged 2 and 8 months and his wife Emily living in High Wycombe. He told u:
“I think it became obvious when I went back to work after our first child, and we assumed fairly typical gender roles. There’s still an imbalance, and I think that’s probably realistic with young children and a big life transition, but it’s something we’re consciously working on together. For us, the first real step in addressing it was for me to be home more to properly support day-to-day life. That meant moving to flexible working and condensing my hours so I could be more present, not just physically but mentally too. It shifted me from stepping in when needed to genuinely sharing responsibility, and that’s been an ongoing process rather than a one-time fix.”
The world has evolved; most parent households are now dual-income, but the system hasn’t evolved to support dads to be equal parents. In reality, it’s not that one parent is being better at finding presents for the kids, or buying the clothes or being naturally better at organising birthday parties – it’s the lack of paternity leave that forces dads back to work 2 weeks after becoming a father and, in many cases, unsupportive workplace environments that reinforce these harmful gender roles. As Elliott say, “It’s time that we come together to put stakes in the ground to commit to change, together.”
Ruchika and Vikram Kalara, are parents to a 3 and a 1 year old and are living in Hammersmith talk about their commitment to making equal parenting work:
“The system isn’t neutral, it has a default, and the default is mum. From the moment paternity leave is capped at two weeks and maternity at a year, the architecture of early parenthood is already decided. She steps back; he steps up at work. In our house it has never been 50/50. It shifts week to week, project to project. What we’ve built is the confidence to step into whatever role the moment needs, without embarrassment, without other people’s judgement, without keeping score. That flexibility has let both of us build careers we’re proud of and a relationship without quiet resentment. And for our children, when dad shows up, it isn’t exceptional. It’s just normal and that’s precisely the point.”
Join us for Equal Parenting Week
Equal Parenting Week is a new national awareness and action campaign designed to challenge traditional gender roles in caregiving and champion a more balanced, inclusive approach to parenting – at home and in the workplace.
Equal Parenting Week takes place from the 27th April and will culminate in a Push for Paternity Leave pram march with hundreds of parents descending on parliament with prams to highlight that dads need better paternity leave so that they can show up as more equal parents from the outset.
by Parenting Out Loud | Apr 20, 2026 | Uncategorized
Recently, we published our updated list of organisations that offer equal parental leave and we were proud to add Opportunity Green to the list. In today’s blog, Zuzka Majcova & David Kay from Opportunity Green share their reflections and learnings from implementing an equal parental leave policy.
An equal parental leave policy ensures that any parent, regardless of gender, family structure or route to parenthood, is entitled to the same amount of paid time off to care for their new baby. This means dads and non-birthing partners get generous, enhanced and fully paid leave, irrespective of their partner’s leave entitlements.
Opportunity Green was established to fight the climate crisis, which is also a climate justice crisis. Climate issues are fundamentally intertwined with equity, so tackling climate crisis properly requires us to tackle more than just climate issues. This applies in both the global and local scales and can be achieved through both our work and our actions as an employer. We strive to do the best we can on both fronts.
Opportunity Green’s family leave policy
Opportunity Green has had an equal family leave policy from the start (est. 2021). This was updated at the beginning of 2024 and currently provides enhanced parental leave and pay to the birth / main adoptive or surrogate parent as well as their partner, with both entitled to 12 months off work. Everyone gets:
- 6 months at full pay
- Keeping in touch (KIT) days are paid at full day rate (when worked outside of the full pay leave period)
- Employer pension contributions continue throughout the full 12 months (Have you heard of the gender pension gap?)
- Flexibility to take their time off within 24 months (subject to statutory requirements)
This makes us one of only two charities in the Inspiring dad’s database to have achieved its Gold standard of equal family leave policy. Shoutout to the Young Women’s Trust for leading the way with us for the non-profit sector.
You can read our Family leave policy in full on our website. Having the right policy in place is only a part of it. Read on for David’s reflections on his experience of taking family leave and how important a workplace culture of support and flexibility is for him.
David’s reflections on extended family leave with his children
David, our Legal Director, has just begun his second period of family leave whilst at Opportunity Green. Below he shares his thoughts on the importance of equal family leave policies.
“Opportunity Green’s equal family leave policy has allowed me to be the parent I want to be as well as the professional I want to be. I’ve benefitted enormously from the time to bond with my children, play with them and be there for them. I like to think they have benefited too – not least from growing up in an equal parenting environment, where they see that dads can do the cleaning, cooking, shopping and laundry (although I’m still no good at choosing stylish clothes).
I’m often the only dad at swimming lessons and the library, and that brings it home how fortunate I am and how unusual Opportunity Green’s policy is in a country where two weeks’ paternity leave is still the norm. Unequal family leave policies mandate parenting structures, holding mums back in the workplace and holding dads back at home. For me, equal parenting isn’t splitting every job 50:50 but having the opportunity to structure family life how you want to, in a way where both parents can contribute and play to their strengths.
But policy alone isn’t enough – the surrounding culture is critical to ensuring family leave policies work. At OG, we’re fortunate that the senior leadership are passionate and vocal about equal family leave, and I’m encouraged to take the leave on offer, but I’ve heard of other dads turning down progressive policies to return to work due to the workplace culture. Arguably just as important is the charity’s commitment to a four-day working week, which gives me a day a week with my young children whilst my partner is at work on an ongoing basis.”
What can you do?
We believe everyone deserves to have the opportunities David has had to be a fully present parent in those crucial first months and years and take every opportunity to advocate for this. Parenting Out Loud and others provide great resources to support you if you want to join in and push your employer or your government to improve paternity leave and pay offer.
If you think the time has come for you to review and update your paternity leave policy, please take a look at ours for inspiration and think about what your first steps to improving your offer could be. We started with three months of full pay, before expanding this at a later point. Small steps in the right direction are meaningful and will make a real difference to parents.
If you want to talk to someone who’s put this policy in place and managed it in practice, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d be very happy to share our experience. Please email our People and Culture Manager Zuzka.
