Mark Zuckerberg (R), the chief executive of Facebook, and his wife Priscilla Chan (File photo)

Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Facebook, has said he will take two months of paternity leave once his daughter is born, according to a report on The Wall Street Journal.

"Studies show that when working parents take time to be with their newborns, outcomes are better for the children and families," Zuckerberg wrote in a post on the social network.

The Facebook founder and his wife Priscilla Chan announced in July that they are expecting their first child. Zuckerberg said on his Facebook account on Nov. 20 that he and her wife are starting to get ready for their daughter's arrival. They have been picking out favorite childhood books and toys.

Compared to Zuckerberg's two-month paternity leave, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer only took two weeks maternity leave in 2012. Now, she said that she will have twins in December and again plans to take 'limited time off'.

It is reported that the U.S. is one of the few countries in the world that offer paid maternity leave, but enterprises should offer 12-week unpaid leaves for pregnant female staff members.

A research by the U.S. Society for Human Resource Management shows that only 21 per cent of enterprises offer paid maternity leave to its employees and 17 per cent offer paid paternity leave. Some survey found that even if employees are offered paternity leave, they are not willing to fulfill their right for fear of that they may be fired by their boss.

Facebook offers its U.S. employees up to four months of paid parental leave, which they can take all at once or divided into chunks. Furthermore, the company offers USD 4,000 to his employees as parenting allowance.