In the US (where this data is from), both men & women are legally allowed to have 12 weeks parental leave (unpaid). There is a handful of states that pay a port

In the US (where this data is from), both men & women are legally allowed to have 12 weeks parental leave (unpaid). There is a handful of states that pay a portion of the salary to women (fewer to men) who take parentnal leave (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parental_leave#Americas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parental_leave#Americas). Parental leave. More women than men take it. Can you prove this to be true? In addition, can you include all types of leave & break the info down by gender and prove that women take 5% more leave than men on average? All kinds of people take sabbaticals for all kinds of reasons (not just parenthood). This might appear to be an interesting thought exercise, but there are too many variables involved to say the possibility of maternity leave means hiring women costs more than hiring men...