Top tier firms in Australia are following the lead of Nordic countries in offering men more time off on full pay to look after their newborn children, in a move that benefits women in the workplace.

From next week Boston Consulting Group will offer its staff 16 weeks leave with full pay and Marian Baird, professor of gender and employment relations at the University of Sydney Business School, said the trend was "picking up pace" in Australia.

Michelle and Julian King with their child Felix at Julian’s workplace Boston Consulting Group in Sydney. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Professor Baird said top tier firms were putting a greater emphasis on fathers taking leave and were moving away from distinguishing between primary and secondary carers when granting paid parental leave.

"It is a generational shift happening in Australia," she said.