Who Deserves More Variation in Public Attitudes Toward Paid Parental Leave in the United States

Research shows widespread support among Americans for paid parental leave and how this support varies by parent gender. However, surprisingly little research has examined how family type, along with its intersection with parent gender, shapes public attitudes toward this policy. Using original data from a national survey experiment (N = 1,983), this study investigates whether attitudes toward paid parental leave—specifically its availability, length, and government funding—vary across eight parent types: different-sex fathers and mothers (“traditional”), adoptive fathers and mothers, gay fathers and lesbian mothers, and single fathers and mothers. Findings confirm broad public support for paid parental leave in the United States, yet reveal significant differences by parent type. First, compared to support for “traditional” parents, support is lower for same-sex parents, particularly for its availability and government funding, while single parents receive higher support in all three dimensions of paid parental leave. Adoptive parents receive similar levels of support as “traditional” parents. Second, attitudes are also gendered, with greater support for mothers than fathers; however, not all types of mothers receive equally strong support (i.e., lesbian mothers), and not all types of fathers are seen as less deserving (i.e., single fathers), resulting in limited to no significant gender difference within same-sex or single parents. These differences are most evident for leave length and government funding than for availability. Lastly, these patterns remain consistent across respondent characteristics. The implications of these findings are discussed.