Is a ‘yes-first’ approach needed for workplace entitlements?

Gender equality researchers say that flexible working rights and paid parental leave equality could narrow gender gaps in unpaid labour, reduce burnout, and boost equality.

Last month, a group of researchers at the King’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership sought to understand what was driving the “tradwife” phenomenon, a popular social media trend romanticising traditional female homemaking roles.

Researchers Heejung Chung, Constance Beaufils, and Shiyu Yuan concluded that rather than a desire to return to traditional gender roles, the popularity of “tradwife” content among young women reflected growing disillusionment with modern work structures and burnout experienced by women seeking to balance “impossible” dual workplace and care responsibilities.

In light of this burnout, Yuan told HR Leader that organisations could take practical steps to better support gender equality among their workforce, including offering adequate paternity leave and taking a “yes-first” approach to flexible work practices.

“We know that cultural change takes time, but there are practical steps organisations can take now,” she said.

“They can offer well-paid parental leave equally to fathers and mothers and make flexible working inclusive for all, so it’s not framed as a ‘women’s issue’ but a normal way of working.”

The researchers found that flexible work practices for both men and women could reduce gender gaps in unpaid labour. During the pandemic, the gender gap in time spent on childcare narrowed significantly as flexible work became the norm.

In 2014, men spent an average of 47 minutes per day on childcare, while women spent 87 minutes on average. This almost doubled to 89 minutes during the 2020 lockdown, compared to women’s 100 minutes per day.

This gap widened again following the pandemic, as workers were beckoned back to the office. Fathers’ average participation in childcare fell back to 55 minutes per day, while mothers’ sat at 85 minutes.

As debate progresses about proposed legislation in Victoria to enshrine work-from-home rights for employees, Yuan underscored that government mandates were important to driving broader workplace change.

As previously reported by HR Leader, Australian businesses have expressed widespread opposition to the work-from-home laws, warning it would impose a “one size fits all” mandate on businesses.

“Achieving the right level of flexibility is done at the workplace level, in discussions between employers and employees, and there are already existing federal laws that provide rights for workers to request the flexibility they need,” Business Council chief executive Bran Black said.

“Around one-third of workers already have some form of working-from-home arrangement, and there’s no evidence that existing laws aren’t working.”

However, Yuan noted that mandates such as these could help support disempowered workers.

“Government mandates matter because they set the baseline and make clear that work/life balance and flexibility are workers’ rights, not discretionary benefits,” she said.

“Global research, including our work, shows that when flexibility is left entirely to individual negotiation, it often benefits workers with greater bargaining power, usually men, while reinforcing inequalities for others.”

Leaders also played a decisive role in setting the cultural tone at an organisation regarding the value of unpaid care work, Yuan noted.

“Managers and leaders play a decisive role, too. When male leaders talk openly about childcare, take parental leave, or use flexible options themselves, it sends a powerful message that caregiving and paid work can coexist,” she said.

Yuan listed Deloitte UK as a positive example of workplace change, which, from 1 January 2025, would offer 26 weeks of fully paid parental leave for all new parents, regardless of gender.

She also underscored the importance of policies that supported fathers and enabled men to step up at home in narrowing the gender gap in unpaid labour.

“In our research, we also see that men – particularly younger men – increasingly expect fathers to work less than they currently do. Many fathers want to contribute more at home, but worry about stigma and potential career penalties,” she said.

“When companies implement these kinds of policies, what matters is not just their generosity but the message they send that fathering is not optional or secondary. This encourages men to take leave, helps normalise care across genders, and ultimately contributes to a more equal balance of unpaid work at home.”