Paternity Leave

In the Parliamentary Gazette of the Chamber of Deputies, dated 17 July 2026, a legislative bill was published, submitted by Deputy Laura Iraís Ballesteros Morales, of the Movimiento Ciudadano party, proposing amendments to the Federal Labour Law with a view to extending and aligning paternity leave with maternity leave.

The explanatory memorandum to the bill states that one of the measures with the greatest potential to advance substantive equality between women and men is to extend and align paternity leave with maternity leave. This measure would contribute to dismantling the notion that childcare and caregiving responsibilities fall exclusively upon women, whilst at the same time promoting a more equitable distribution of family responsibilities. It would also help reduce the employment discrimination faced by women in recruitment, appointment and career-promotion processes, as well as narrow the gender pay gaps associated with motherhood, by ensuring that both working mothers and fathers are entitled to an equivalent period of ninety calendar days to care for their children.

In this regard, the birth or adoption of a child represents a period during which family responsibilities increase significantly. During this stage, children require constant attention, protection and care. Similarly, mothers require companionship and support during the period following childbirth. Accordingly, paternity leave should not be regarded as an ancillary benefit, but rather as an employment measure that enables progress towards a more equitable distribution of caregiving responsibilities and greater gender equality in the workplace.

One of the measures with the greatest potential to advance substantive equality between women and men is to extend and align paternity leave with maternity leave. This measure would contribute to dismantling the notion that childcare and caregiving responsibilities fall exclusively upon women, whilst at the same time promoting a more equitable distribution of family responsibilities. It would also help reduce the employment discrimination faced by women in recruitment, appointment and career-promotion processes, as well as narrow the gender pay gaps associated with motherhood, by ensuring that both working mothers and fathers are entitled to an equivalent period of ninety calendar days to care for their children.

Paternity leave enables fathers to have a legally protected period in which to care for their children and the mother around the time of childbirth or adoption.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), such leave provides fathers with the opportunity to have the time and space necessary to care for and establish bonds with their children, whilst supporting the mother in addressing the physical and psychological needs associated with childbirth and beginning to establish a shared approach to parenting.

Extending paternity leave also has implications for the social organisation of care. The ILO has noted that, on average, women undertake three times as much unpaid care work as men.

For this reason, progressively closing the gender gap in parental leave is a vital step towards improving gender equality in the workplace.

Accordingly, the bill proposes amending Article 132 Bis of the Federal Labour Law in the following terms:

Section XXVII Bis of Article 132 of the Federal Labour Law is hereby amended to read as follows:

Article 132. Employers shall have the following obligations:

I–XXVII. …

XXVII Bis. To grant male employees thirty working days of paid paternity leave upon the birth of their children and, likewise, in the event of the adoption of a child;

XXVIII–XXXIV. …