One in 5 fathers worry about taking paternity leave.

Male leaders role modeling strong allyship is the single most effective allyship strategy in the workplace.

People broadly support care infrastructure across genders, political affiliations, and countries.

This is Part 2 of a 2-part series.

Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice is publishing two new studies, "Building Men’s Solidarity for Workplace Equality: A Guide for Workplace Leaders," and the "State of the World's Fathers 2026" report, based on data from 8,000 parents across 16 countries. I interviewed Taveeshi Gupta, Senior Director of Research, Evaluation, and Learning, and Christopher Hook, Deputy Director of Strategic Partnerships of Equimundo, to understand some of the highlights.

In the first post of this two-part series, we discussed how parents are losing sleep worrying about money and the future and giving up simple pleasures. Modern fathers are feeling pressured to be breadwinners as much as caregivers.

So, where does this leave us, and where can we go from here? Gupta and Hook shared insights from the research and their personal experiences.

Fathers Face Flexibility Stigma

The "fatherhood flexibility stigma" operates in parallel to the well-documented "motherhood penalty." We know the motherhood penalty is real—when women take leave after childbirth, their careers can suffer. But the fatherhood flexibility stigma is equally striking: There is a significant taboo attached to men seeking flexibility at work, often more than when women do, Gupta explained.

Equimundo’s previous research with Dove Men Care found that most fathers reported having little support for taking paternity leave; one in five feared that simply taking the full amount of paternity leave offered to them could mean risking losing their job. Fathers were also worried about how others would perceive them if they prioritized........

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