Today is Father’s Day, but there is little to celebrate. More than symbolic gifts, concrete rights would be needed. In Italy, in fact, paternity leave remains limited and still little used: one father in three does not take advantage of it. The data speaks clearly. According to Save the Children’s calculations on INPS data, in 2024 around 181 thousand fathers requested leave, equal to just over 64% of those entitled to it. An important number, but still after years of growth. The feeling is that we have reached a cultural and structural limit that is difficult to overcome.
Ten days to be fathers
Italian law provides for 10 mandatory days, 100% paid, to be used between two months before and five months after birth. A short period, which hardly allows you to build a true family balance. The result is clear: fathers continue to be perceived as supporting figures, not protagonists. Too often they are still considered “second class parents”, called to “help out” from an economic point of view by going to work and bringing home the salary instead of actually sharing the care of the children with the mother.
The geographical and social divide
Not all fathers start from the same conditions. Leave is used above all in the North, where 59% of beneficiaries are concentrated, while in the South and on the Islands the numbers remain lower. The type of work and employment stability also have an impact. Those with a permanent contract or a skilled job use more days than temporary or manual workers. In short, leave is not yet a right fully accessible to everyone.
Europe runs, Italy lags behind
International comparison makes the picture even more clear. In Spain, fathers are entitled to 16 weeks of 100% pay, just like mothers. In Sweden, there are 90 non-transferable days, while in Norway around 15 weeks are reserved exclusively for fathers. Italy, with its 10 days, remains among the least generous countries. A distance that is not only normative, but cultural: elsewhere the paternal role is recognized as central, not accessory.
Companies trying to change course
However, there is no shortage of different signals. Some companies, through internal agreements, offer additional days or longer leaves, in some cases reaching up to 90 paid days.
These are examples – like Lidl – that are still limited, but they indicate a possible direction: making leave a real tool for sharing family responsibilities. The real challenge today is not to celebrate fathers with a gift. It’s allowing them to really be there.
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