America's troubled relationship with paid time off for dads

As U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's paternity leave comes under fire — with some going so far as to question his work ethic — experts say paid leave for fathers is more necessary than ever.

Yet while polls show that most Americans support paid parental leave for men, cultural biases continue to obstruct its adoption despite research indicating that such policies help with everything from family finances to improving gender equity in the workplace. 

It's still far from the norm for fathers in the U.S. to claim even a few weeks of unpaid leave: Only 5% of new dads take at least two weeks of parental leave, according to research from Ball State sociology professor Richard Petts, who told USA Today that he was drawn to the issue when his first child was born. At the time, Petts was told that if he wanted to take more than a couple days off to care for his newborn, he would need a medical note saying his wife was unavailable to care for their child.