Paternity leave: a legal framework

Paternity leave is essential to promote a culture of shared childcare and parenthood and to foster full gender equality in the sharing of roles and the management of working time. It also represents a practical way to meet the needs of fathers who would like to follow their children's development more closely, eradicating the idea that having children is a commitment associated only with mothers.
In Italy, there has not been a reduction in care spaces but an extension in their duration based on the fact that it is in the child's best interest (especially in their earliest years) to grow up with the presence of parents and with the best possible care, which lies at the heart of regulations protecting maternal and paternal rights.
For these reasons, parental and paternity leave have been provided for in addition to the traditional maternity leave.