Jessie Stephens: Project host reveals the shocking response her former boss once asked a male colleague when he applied for paternity leave: ‘That says a lot about Australian culture’

A project host has shared the mocking response her ex-boss gave to a male colleague who had requested parental leave.

Jessie Stephens talked about this experience on Sunday night’s episode, when new data shows how few fathers are taking time off with their newborns.

“I remember years ago at a place I worked, a guy took two weeks of parental leave, and the boss said, ‘Oh, do you need to take some time off to breastfeed?’” Stephens said.

“I thought, ‘hmm, that’s probably going to have a lasting impact.'”

‘Certainly says something about the culture.’

It comes as the federal government wants to make changes to parental leave rules, with 20 weeks of government-funded leave currently available to share between new parents.

The changes would see two additional weeks of payments reserved exclusively for each parent each year from July 2024.

By July 2026, each parent will receive an additional six weeks of paid leave.

Simultaneous leave will also be introduced, allowing both parents to take four weeks off at the same time if they wish.

The scheme aims to ‘encourage shared care and send a strong message that both parents play a role in the care of their children’, Women’s Minister Katy Gallagher announced last month.

Statistics from the Ministry of Social Affairs show that although 33 percent of employers offer parental leave, only 13 percent of men do so.

Last year, just 1,020 men had access to publicly funded parental leave, compared to 170,200 women.

‘Men only take 13 percent of parental leave because they still feel they have to conform to gender stereotypes. They still consider themselves breadwinners,” said Kati Gapaillard, CEO of The Fathering Project.

“They just don’t feel comfortable enough to take parental leave.”

“Corporate Australia needs to take a long-term view on paid parental leave for fathers, and they need to be a role model within their culture,” she added.

Now that 33 percent of employers offering parental leave have grown, only 13 percent of men take advantage of it. Last year, 1,020 men had access to publicly funded parental leave, compared to 170,200 women

Data shows that 85 percent of new fathers are likely to stay at work after their baby is born.

“Leaders need to take that with them to show the rest of the organization that it’s right,” Ms. Gapaillard continued.

“Mothers don’t necessarily have to mother the way they were mothered, and fathers don’t necessarily have to father the way they were conceived.

‘It is very important to break that intergenerational cycle and provide the attention, care and equal parenting that our children need today.’