The U.S. is the only country other than Papua New Guinea that doesn't guarantee women maternity leave after they have a baby — a point John Oliver used to shame America a few weeks ago. The Economist goes a step further and looks at the benefits of allowing new fathers to take a few weeks off, too. In Denmark, for instance, 90 percent of dads take more than two weeks off after the birth of a child, for example, and everyone seems to benefit.
In one study, fathers who took paternity leave "were more likely to feed, dress, bathe, and play with their child long after the period of leave had ended," The Economist notes in the video below, and their kids — especially daughters — did better in school, up through at least high school. The third beneficiary of paternity leave? "Women's careers." Not persuaded? Watch below. —Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.