Equalities minister says men are too often mocked in the workplace for wanting to juggle childcare and career

Men are too often mocked in the work place for wanting to go part time or leaving early to pick up their children, the Liberal Democrat equalities minister has said, as she announced detailed plans for new mums and dads to share a year of parental leave after the birth of a child.

Jo Swinson, who is eight months' pregnant, said she wanted to change the culture of workplaces to prevent the "conflict" between people's jobs and family life, making it just as normal for fathers to take on caring responsibilities as mothers.

She criticised the "cultural double-standards" and said it was not right for men to be disparaged for wanting to work less to spend more time caring for their children.

The proposals for parents to share 12 months of leave after the birth of a child were outlined by the Lib Dems last year, with the aim of helping women return to the workplace and allowing men to have more involvement in caring for new babies.

However, the details have only just been thrashed out by the coalition after months of wrangling about how to minimise hassle for businesses.

Under the new plans starting in April 2015, a couple will have to give their employers an indicative breakdown of how they plan to share their leave eight weeks before it starts. They will then be able to change their proposals twice during the year-long leave.

In a concession to businesses, bosses will have to agree any proposed pattern of time off and have the right to insist it is confined to a continuous block. Fathers will also get a new right to unpaid leave to attend up to two antenatal appointments.

Sources said Grant Shapps, the Conservative party chairman, led an effort to water down the package, backed by Philip Hammond, the defence secretary, Francis Maude, a cabinet office minister, Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, and Eric Pickles, the communities secretary.

The Conservative cabinet ministers wanted couples to give a binding commitment on how they would share the leave in advance, but the Lib Dems argued this would defeat the point of flexibility.

However, the Tories managed to retain the rules that parents will only be entitled to get the same job back if they take less than six months off, with anyone who takes longer potentially getting a similar but not identical role.

The Conservatives previously killed off Nick Clegg's demands for a month of dedicated "daddy leave" instead of the current two weeks.

The two parties have agreed to review the take-up of shared parental leave by fathers and look at extending paid paternity leave and pay "once the economy is in a stronger position".

Business groups, including the British Chambers of Commerce and Federation of Small Businesses, welcomed the plans, saying they had been simplified and made manageable for companies.

However, the Institute of Directors said shortening the notice period given to employers before parents return to work would create a "nightmare" for smaller firms. Other critics also pointed out surveys suggesting just one in 20 men will take up the offer.

Speaking to the Guardian, Swinson said more must be done to encourage men to take up their rights and questioned a culture in which men who take their family responsibilities seriously are "ribbed".

"Why does a man who works flexibly and part time get treated differently from the woman?" she said.

"It's a symptom of how we do have cultural double standards in many workplaces, where for women to take flexible working or leaving early on a particular day to pick up the kids from nursery is deemed to be acceptable but for some reason we treat a man who is making the same choice differently.

"We do really need to think about how we address some of those cultural barriers in workplaces. We need to get parents thinking about this and talking about it."

Swinson said a senior female boss had told her that male staff only felt able to "admit they had families too" once she had more women on her board.

"Basically you had many of these men in the workplace who would have dearly loved to be able to feel like they could say they needed to leave at a particular time or take an afternoon off to watch the school play but didn't feel they could," she said.

"Once you had a more diverse mix around the table, when people were acknowledging external responsibilities at the same time as doing an excellent job, men felt like they could also play their role as a father alongside their working role and the two didn't have to be in such conflict."

Swinson said there could also potentially be "a stigma or a resentment" towards mothers who work part-time in some workplaces but she hoped this would change with the coalition's plans to give all employees the right to request flexible working.

Under the reforms, this right will be extended from parents and carers to all workers, and companies will have a new duty to consider the request in a reasonable way, rather than going through a statutory process.

Labour said the announcement did not contain anything new for parents since the outline policy was revealed last year.

Gloria De Piero MP, the shadow women and equalities minister, said: "Nick Clegg claims to be on parents' side but he and David Cameron have done nothing to support families in the last three years.

"Instead this out-of-touch government has cut childcare support and places and there are now 578 fewer Sure Start centres than in 2010."