What is the Ideal Duration of Paternity Leave? Citizens' Perspectives

The Indonesian government is drafting regulations for paternity leave with a maximum duration of 60 days. However, this right will only be granted to civil servants (ASN).

"The government will grant leave to husbands whose wives have given birth or experienced a miscarriage," said Minister of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform (PANRB) Abdullah Azwar Anas in a press release on Wednesday, March 13, 2024.

Anas initially aimed to finalize the paternity leave regulations for civil servants by April 2024. However, as of mid-May 2024, there has been no further news regarding this plan.

According to a Populix survey, the majority of respondents (39%) consider an ideal paternity leave duration to be one month.

Furthermore, 22% of respondents stated that paternity leave should be less than one month, 19% answered three months, and 15% answered two months.

Only a small percentage of respondents stated that paternity leave is unnecessary (3%), while others desired paternity leave of more than four months (2%).

Populix conducted this online survey from February 22-25, 2024, involving 683 Indonesian workers, 56% male and 44% female.

The majority of respondents were from Java (82%), followed by Sumatra (12%), and other islands (6%). Respondents were predominantly aged 17-25 years (30%) and 26-35 years (25%).