Mothers receive nearly eight times as much paid leave as fathers around the world, according to a policy brief from UN Women and the World Bank Group that was covered again on October 26, 2026. The brief, titled From Parenthood Leave to Childcare Services, surveyed 190 economies and found a stark global gap in how parenthood leave is shared.
According to UN News, which reported the brief on October 22, 2026, mothers receive an average of 196 days of paid leave, compared with 25 days for fathers. In 66 economies, fathers are guaranteed no paid leave at all, and in half of the remaining economies they receive less than two weeks. In 61 economies, mothers receive less than the International Labour Organization standard of 14 weeks, and in six economies mothers are guaranteed no paid leave.
The gap extends beyond leave into daily unpaid work. According to UN News, women spend on average 2.5 times more hours per day on unpaid care work than men, a burden the brief links to weaker labour-market outcomes for mothers and to the persistence of traditional caregiving roles.
DevelopmentAid, reporting the same brief on October 26, 2026, notes that the findings were published ahead of the International Day of Care and Support on October 29, 2026, a day intended to draw attention to the value of care work in households and economies.
What happens next depends on whether governments close the leave gap. The brief argues that more equal parenthood leave, paired with accessible childcare services, would let both parents share caregiving and help mothers return to paid work on fairer terms, rather than leaving care almost entirely to women.
Image: Sean Fitzgerald, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons