The Use of Paternity Leave by Migrants in Spain

This blog post is based on an article published in Social Policy and Society by Pedro Romero-Balsas, Gerardo Meil, and Jesús Rogero-García.

The blog post is written by Matej Kojic.

The article by Romero-Balsas, Meil and Rogero-García examines how migrant fathers, especially those from American and European backgrounds, engage with Spain’s evolving paternity leave policies. It highlights the complex social, cultural, and economic factors that shape their access and usage compared to Spanish-born fathers. The study draws on representative data from QUIDAN, a 2021 online survey of 3,100 parents of young children in Spain, providing clear quantitative evidence for the analysis.

The Changing Landscape of Paternity Leave in Spain

Spain’s family policies for gender equality have evolved in distinct phases over the last two decades. The pivotal 2007 Law for Effective Equality first established paternity leave as a non-transferable right, granting fathers just 13 days of paid leave. The policy underwent its first major extension in 2017, increasing to four weeks, and was subsequently expanded to five weeks in 2018. A landmark reform occurred in 2019: paternity leave reached parity with maternity leave, offering both parents 16 weeks at full pay, the entire benefit being individual and non-transferable. Most recently, in 2025, a new reform further extended paid birth and childcare leave to 19 weeks per parent and introduced two paid weeks within the previously unpaid parental leave scheme.

This framework was designed to break historic patterns where childcare was “women’s work” and to address the persistent “motherhood penalty” in Spanish workplaces.

Despite these progressive changes, the impact and reach of paternity leave across Spain’s increasingly diverse society reveal important differences, especially when examining native and migrant populations.

Migrants in Spain: Context and Challenges

As of 2023, about 17.1% of Spain’s population was born abroad. Nevertheless, the experience of migrant families with these policies remains markedly under-researched in Spain and other Southern European countries, especially when contrasted with the numerous detailed studies conducted in Belgium and the Scandinavian countries. The public and political discourse on migration in Spain often emphasizes social cohesion and threats to the welfare state, rather than the specific needs and realities of migrants themselves.

Migrants, particularly those from American countries (mainly Latin America) and Europe, face distinct obstacles when accessing work-life policies like paternity leave. These range from eligibility criteria tied to employment status and formal sector participation to linguistic, cultural, and informational barriers. Traditional gender roles, precarious employment, and unfamiliarity with Spanish bureaucracy further limit migrant fathers’ uptake of these policies.

Key Findings from the QUIDAN Survey

The study’s foundation is the QUIDAN 2021 survey, a robust national dataset of 3,100 parents, including 1,489 fathers (1,430 born in Spain, 28 in other European countries, 31 in America). Using both descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis, the authors reveal statistically significant results:

• Spanish-born fathers use paternity leave at a rate of 81.8%.
• American-born fathers have a substantially lower usage rate: just 64.5% and are over eight times less likely than Spanish fathers to use paternity leave, even after controlling for relevant variables.
• European-born fathers show similar paternity leave usage to Spanish-born fathers, with 82.1%.

The results show that, for American migrants, even strong proficiency in Spanish does not fully offset the negative impact of migrant status on paternity-leave usage. Factors such as labour-market insecurity and prevailing cultural expectations around gender and caregiving continue to play an important role. In contrast, European migrants often benefit from broader social protection compared to those coming from outside Europe, and their perception of potential negative consequences for taking paternity leave may be lower. This, combined with their greater familiarity with formal childcare systems, may help explain why their paternity-leave usage closely resembles that of Spanish-born fathers.

Barriers to Leave: Policy, Work, and Culture

The study details multiple barriers to paternity leave for migrants:

• Institutional factors: Eligibility requires stable employment or unemployment benefits, excluding those in informal or precarious work.
• Cultural factors: Some migrants hold more traditional views on gender roles, seeing childcare leave as inappropriate for men.
• Informational barriers: Migrants may lack knowledge about their rights or struggle with administrative processes, especially if language proficiency is low.
• Workplace factors: Temporary contracts and non-standard employment drastically reduce the likelihood of taking paternity leave; fathers with permanent contracts are most likely to use the benefit.

Controlling Variables and Additional Insights

The analysis considers numerous additional factors:

• Older fathers and those with lower educational attainment are less likely to use paternity leave.
• Income plays an “inverted U-shaped” role – middle incomes have the highest leave usage, while high and low economic brackets are less likely to use leave.
• Fathers partnered with Spanish-born mothers, regardless of their own nationality, tend to use paternity leave more often.
• The involvement of grandparents, religious beliefs, and attitudes toward career impact do not significantly alter paternity leave usage after controlling for other variables.

Policy Implications and Recommendations

The authors of the research stress the need for targeted policies to close the usage gap between native and migrant fathers. While earmarking paternity leave and increasing its duration have raised overall usage, they have not fully addressed the barriers faced by migrant populations. Spain’s success in expanding paid parental leave now requires further adaptation to ensure equitable access for all fathers – especially those from outside Europe – who are more likely to experience economic and social vulnerability.

Key recommendations for future research and policy focus include:

• Expanding the migrant sample for deeper analysis.
• Investigating the timing of migration and its impact on adaptation.
• Conducting qualitative studies to explore migrants’ perceptions of leave systems and the practical difficulties they encounter.

Conclusion

Spain’s progress in establishing generous, gender-equal paternity leave is evident in steadily rising usage among native fathers. However, migrant fathers, particularly those from American backgrounds, remain less likely to utilise this important benefit despite reforms. Sociocultural, economic, and informational barriers persist, pointing to the need for continued attention to migrant inclusion in family policy. Bridging these gaps will be crucial for true social and gender equality in Spain’s evolving welfare landscape.

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Reference

Romero-Balsas, Pedro, Gerardo Meil, and Jesús Rogero-García. 2025. “The Use of Paternity Leave by Migrants in Spain.” Social Policy and Society: 1–13. doi: 10.1017/S1474746425101085.

About the Authors

Pedro Romero-Balsas is Lecturer of Sociology at the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain.

Gerardo Meil is Professor of Sociology at the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain.

Jesús Rogero-García is Lecturer of Sociology at the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain.

Matej Kojic is a Doctoral Candidate at the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain.