Japan’s prime minister unveiled a $25 billion plan to expand support for young people and families to help raise the country’s plummeting birthrate. More direct subsidies for those with children and more financial help for education and prenatal care are on the cards, along with the promotion of flexible work styles and paternity leave. But many men are still reluctant to take time off to look after a newborn, even though the country’s employment law stipulates that companies cannot discriminate against male employees who take parental leave. They are also afraid that taking leave will harm their career prospects or lead to them being reassigned to a more straightforward job with a lower salary.
These fears are not entirely irrational. One study, for example, found that male employees overestimate the negative attitudes of their coworkers toward men who use paternity leave. This misperception, pluralistic ignorance, may explain why paternity leave rates remain so low.
Pluralistic ignorance is a social phenomenon that leads people to underestimate the degree to which others endorse their beliefs and values. Various studies have investigated the causes of pluralistic ignorance, and most have found that people do not fully understand the views of those around them. As a result, several intervention strategies have been designed to address this problem, and some of these are beginning to bear fruit.
For instance, some firms have begun to encourage the use of paternity leave by offering incentives such as free baby food and childcare services for children of employees on paternity leave. In addition, some firms have started to require managers to take paternity leave to serve as role models and promote the importance of family-friendly policies.
But a recent survey by the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry suggested that these efforts still need to significantly dent the number of Japanese male workers who actually take paternity leave. The report also said that most small- and midsize companies need more replacement staff to cover their male employees who take paternity leave.
The government is determined to overcome this hurdle. It has launched a campaign to encourage paternity leave, including holding public events to educate workers about the system’s benefits and encouraging employers to provide more flexible working conditions. Moreover, it plans to require all companies with more than 1,000 employees to announce the ratio of men who take paternity leave publicly.
But some experts say these efforts will not be enough to revive the birthrate, which has fallen to record lows in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Stuart Gietel-Basten, a public policy and social science professor at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, warns that the nation faces entrenched cultural factors likely to resist even the most well-intentioned policy changes. Moreover, he notes that the government’s focus on boosting birthrates will only succeed if it is accompanied by measures to support families, such as making it easier for them to buy homes.
