Les pères bénéficiaires de l’APE : révélateurs de nouvelles pratiques paternelles?

Abstract

Fathers taking parental leave. Towards new fathering practices ? Couples in which the father has opted for the parental childcare leave allowance (Allocation Parental d''Education -APE) are « atypical » compared with couples with the same family situation (two children of which the younger is under 3) but where the father has not taken the APE. Nearly half of the fathers receiving the APE live with a partner of a higher socio-occupational category, 60 % of the female partners have higher earnings, and more than six in ten (65%) fathers live with a female partner who has higher educational qualifications. In the couples where the father was in paid employment before taking up the APE, the woman's earned income is on average higher than the man's. The decision of fathers to interrupt their working lives appears less an individual choice than an initiative of the couple that does not damage the professional trajectory of either partner. Moreover, the division of childcare and household tasks attests to practices associated with-but not openly adhered to-an egalitarian model though without forming a challenge to prevailing gender norms.