Gene Kelly. Thierry Henry. Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
While they don’t appear to have much in common, they’re among the statues of famous and influential men across London that have had toy babies strapped to them in recent days.
Monuments of men in Edinburgh have also been spotted with infant dolls attached to their chests.
It’s all part of a grassroots campaign pushing for increased paid paternity leave in the United Kingdom.
A statue of Arsenal legend Thierry Henry got the baby treatment from The Dad Shift. Source: Instagram / The Dad Shift
New dads and co-parents are currently only entitled to a fortnight of statutory paternity leave, paid at a rate of £184.03 ($358) per week or 90 per cent of their average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
It makes the UK’s policy “the worst in Europe”, according to The Dad Shift, the campaign group behind the statue stunt.
“I think it’s really important that we did something to grab the attention of people visually. These monuments are some of the most important people in the history of this country, and these are the men that men look up to,” Dad Shift co-founder Marvyn Harrison told British radio station LBC.
“We wanted to make sure we started the conversation with them, but really this is something that helps every father in the country — but also not just fathers, but mothers and their babies as well in the early stages.”
The lifesize statue of British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel at London’s Paddington Station was also targeted by the grassroots campaign. Source: Instagram / The Dad Shift
It’s not the first time attaching toy babies to statues has been used to make a point about paternity leave in the UK.
Maternity discrimination charity Pregnant Then Screwed ran a similar campaign last October in Liverpool, strapping infant dolls to statues on a beach, accompanied by the sound of a baby’s cry and signs calling for parental leave reform.
A recent survey found that almost a third of fathers in the UK didn’t take any paternity leave due to the low rate of pay.
Harrison said the poor paternity leave entitlements mean many families are having to make the difficult decisions between dads and co-parents playing an “active role” in their children’s lives or being able to make ends meet.
“My oldest is eight years old, and when he was first born, I was over the absolute, absolute moon, and I contributed all that I could mentally, physically and emotionally,” he said.
“When it came down to taking time off of work, I got two weeks, but actually the cost of not being in work at full pay meant that after a week and two days, the choice was just made between us that we actually can’t afford to take that much time off and my time will be better served going back to work, making enough money to create that ease.
“We’re breaking down families by not allowing us helping to facilitate men’s contribution to the family.”
The committed to a review of parental leave policies in its first year in office.
How much paternity leave do Australian dads get?
Unlike the UK, Australia doesn’t offer separate maternity and paternity leave — parental leave entitlements are instead paid per eligible family.
New parents can get up to 22 weeks — or 110 days — of leave, currently paid at a rate of $183.16 a day before tax, or $915.80 per five-day week.
At least 10 of those days of leave are reserved specifically for the parent not considered to be the birth mother or first adoptive parent. Single parents are entitled to the full amount.
From 1 July 2025, , before rising by another two weeks a year later.
Most new parents can get additional paid and unpaid parental leave through their employers.
