Finnish fathers increasingly embrace parental leave, but mothers still take the lead

Finland's recent family leave reform, which aims to encourage a more balanced sharing of parental responsibilities, is showing signs of progress. By the end of September 2023, there was a noticeable increase in fathers' utilization of parental leave benefits compared to the previous year. However, it's still early to fully assess the impact of the reform.

The reform, which applies to children born on or after September 4, 2022, replaced the previous maternity and paternity leave benefits with pregnancy and parental leave benefits.