These days, it’s becoming more common for men to take parental leave. Yesterday, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare released the latest data on the male parental leave acquisition rate for FY 2023.
According to this data, among men whose spouses gave birth between October 1, 2021, and September 30, 2022, the percentage of those who began parental leave (including post-birth paternity leave) by October 1, 2023, was 30.1%, up 13.0 points from the previous year (17.13%). ※For women, the acquisition rate was 84.1%, up 3.9 points from the previous year (80.2%).
Regarding the duration of parental leave, the most common period was “1 month to less than 3 months” at 28.0% (24.5% in FY 2021), followed by “5 days to less than 2 weeks” at 22.0% (26.5% in the previous year), and “2 weeks to less than 1 month” at 20.4% (13.2% in the previous year), indicating an increase in the proportion taking leave for more than 2 weeks. ※For women, the most common duration was “12 months to less than 18 months” at 32.7%.
In this way, the male parental leave acquisition rate has finally exceeded 30%. This increase is not only due to a shift in male consciousness but also significantly influenced by the new requirement for companies with over 1,000 employees to disclose their male parental leave rates starting in April 2023, which has promoted acquisition in these companies. This disclosure obligation will expand to companies with over 300 employees in April 2025, so it is expected that the acquisition of parental leave by men will continue to increase.
If taking parental leave by men disrupts business operations, it will hinder acquisition and could even lead to issues like paternity harassment. Therefore, it is crucial to create an environment where men can take parental leave without concern.
令和５年度雇用均等基本調査｜厚生労働省 (mhlw.go.jp)
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