Hennecke, JulianeMeehan, LisaPacheco, GailTurcu, Alexandra2026-06-082026-06-082025-10-13New Zealand Economic Papers, ISSN: 0077-9954 (Print); 1943-4863 (Online), Informa UK Limited, 60(1), 97-120. doi: 10.1080/00779954.2025.25568700077-99541943-4863http://hdl.handle.net/10292/21345Fathers' involvement in childcare plays a critical role in promoting gender equality in caregiving, supporting children's development, and enhancing men's own well-being. Yet, in many countries–including New Zealand–mothers still bear a disproportionate share of childcare responsibilities, contributing to what is known as the gender care gap. This paper examines what drives variation in paternal involvement in early childcare, using data from the Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) birth cohort. We identify key factors that help and hinder fathers' engagement, such as job-related constraints, household income dynamics, and personality traits. Importantly, the analysis shows that leave-taking and daily involvement are shaped by different drivers, with, for example, conscientious fathers being more involved in daily care while simultaneously being less likely to take paternity leave. This research contributes to a more nuanced understanding of what shapes fathers' roles in caregiving, with implications for families, employers, and policymakers.© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/38 Economics3502 Banking, Finance and Investment3801 Applied Economics35 Commerce, Management, Tourism and ServicesGeneric health relevance5 Gender Equality1401 Economic Theory1402 Applied EconomicsFatherhoodgender care gappaternal leave takingchildcareJournal ArticleOpenAccess10.1080/00779954.2025.2556870