The sexes are different. I think it's natural for a new mother to want to spend time with her baby and for a new father to safeguard his career, on which the livelihood of the family often depends, by working harder.
Fearing that if you don't keep working your family will starve doesn't seem like an innate gender difference but a cultural problem. The new fathers I have known have all wanted to spend time with their babies.
Yep. I structured my paternity leave as a series of Wednesdays off for several months so I only was on for two days and then off. Gave my wife a break that way.
That has very little to do with the sexes and everything to do with a predatory economic system. The fact that we have people in this country who feel this way not only about paternity leave but also general vacation / sick time should not be a reflection on those people but on the corporations and a broken society.
My male colleagues enjoy a few months of paternity leave without fear of losing their job. It's not a matter of sex, but culture, law, and policies.