To address the failures of the UK’s paternity leave system, The Dad Shift announced a “Dad strike.” This relatively small initiative caught fire and was popular with communities almost instantly. This movement aims to raise awareness of the lack of statutory paternity leave available to fathers and non-birthing parents in the UK. Many consider it one of the stingiest—if not the stingiest—options across all of Europe. Eligible fathers only receive two weeks of leave. They would have to live on just £187.18 a week, which is little over half the minimum wage.
The campaign brings attention to the hardships of self-employed co-parents who fall through the cracks and don’t qualify for any state aid. In the UK, the paternity leave system amounts to just 1.9% of total government expenditure on parental leave. This continually bleak number leaves the country ranked 40th out of 43 countries on the OECD ranking for paternity leave.
Statistical data underscores the crisis: for every 100 babies born in the UK, only 31.6 fathers take advantage of statutory paternity pay. This gap has an immeasurable impact on how families are able to function. Research suggests that in the first year of life the average British father spends just 1,403 hours caring for their child—a staggering 43% just fewer hours than the average mother’s 3,293 hours.
We heard a powerful call for equal parenting responsibilities from George Gabriel of The Dad Shift.
“It’s better when both parents have opportunities to be equally active caregivers.” – George Gabriel
Marvyn is a proud self-employed father of two. As the founder of the podcast “Dope Black Dads,” he enthusiastically believes that educating men around these issues is key.
“The most important thing we have to do is awaken men to the problem.” – Marvyn Harrison
He challenged the audience to push for paternity leave and pay. This simple change would be revolutionary not just for family balance, for pushing back on the workplace culture that encourages placing career obligations higher than family responsibilities.
“Fighting for paternity leave and paternity pay is a way for us to start to interrupt how we over commit in the workplace and don’t commit enough in our families.” – Marvyn Harrison
The “Dad strike” stands as the most revolutionary moment in Britain’s current struggle for gender equality. Companies such as The Romans and On The Tools have already signed up to support the initiative, one that can only benefit this vital industry field.
Pete Target, another supporter of the movement, stated that it is vital for fathers to voice their need for equitable parental leave.
“It’s time to be more open about the struggles dads face and to show up and say, ‘This is what we need. We have needs too’.” – Pete Target
Lee Wilcox expressed this sentiment, noting that millions of dads feel like they’re losing precious time with their kids. They estimate this loss is due to lack of leave.
With each day that the strike goes on, advocates hope that it is having a positive effect. They hope it will shed light on paternity leave shortcomings and encourage vital discussions about gender equality and parental rights. The movement hopes to spark fathers’ interest in being active caregivers from the very beginning. It pushes the notion that both parents need to equally share the responsibility.
Gabriel articulated a poignant reality faced by many new fathers:
“The UK’s rubbish paternity leave system means from the day our kids arrive most fathers are forced to make an impossible choice – between going out to work and provide for our families, and providing them with the one thing that matters most, our presence.” – George Gabriel