The International Labour Organization states that closing the gender gap would require an additional global annual investment of $142 billion [approximately €123 billion] by 2035.
This represents an average GDP increase of 0.13% across all countries, ranging from an additional 0.08% of GDP in Europe and Central Asia to 0.49% in Arab States, according to the study.
The ILO highlights that countries face challenges in effectively implementing statutory parental leave and stresses the need for a better balance between maternity and paternity leave to address gender disparities.
The calculation is based on 14 weeks of parental leave paid at 67% of previous earnings, fully funded by social security or public funds.
The ILO study reveals that globally, the average duration of the gender gap in paid parental leave was 22.5 weeks or 5.2 months in 2024.
This indicates that mothers, on average, are entitled to five more months of paid leave than fathers following the birth or adoption of a child, according to the UN agency specializing in labor issues.
The study notes that paid paternity leave is, on average, 16 weeks shorter than maternity leave, with data for 186 countries showing that the average duration of paid paternity leave remains low at just four days (0.6 weeks).
Among the 105 countries with mandatory paid paternity leave, the average is nearly ten days.
The average duration of total paid parental leave available to mothers is 24.7 weeks, while the total reserved for fathers is just 2.2 weeks, according to the ILO.
Of the 186 countries analyzed in 2024, 80 (43%) have a gender disparity in paid parental leave provisions equivalent to three months or less. In another 60 countries, the disparity ranges between three and six months, while in 14 countries, it lies between six months and one year.
In 28 countries, the gender gap in paid parental leave exceeds one year, while three countries offer no paid parental leave to either parent, the study adds.
More than half of the world’s population (57.3%) lives in countries where the gender gap in paid parental leave is between three and six months, and only one country, Spain, has no gender disparity because paid paternity leave is currently equal to maternity leave.
The UN agency acknowledges that countries face challenges in increasing fathers’ participation rates and have thus established mandatory paternity leave, with a group of nine countries, including Portugal, where fathers are required to take the leave either entirely or partially.
Portugal is also among the seven countries, including Belgium, France, Japan, Luxembourg, South Korea, and Spain, where the total duration of paid parental leave reserved for fathers represents more than a third of the total parental leave available to parents.
Portugal is included in a group of ten countries where parental leave reserved for fathers accounts for half of the total paid parental leave for the family.
The ILO proposes that all countries ratify the agency’s standards, recognize the role of fathers in caregiving, provide paid leave for each parent, and ensure inclusive financing.
