In this article we focus on a group of fathers who use parental leave and how they include care-giving in their construction of masculinity. The fathers shape their own masculine form of care-work differently from the mothers' interaction with the child. Both mothers and fathers, however, take part in the process of reproducing masculinity as the norm by giving masculine care higher status. Care-giving activities are adopted by the hegemonic form of masculinity with its strong connection to paid work.

The emergence of parental leave schemes has been the most important area of expansion for the Norwegian welfare state in the 1990s. Schemes have been extended, and special rights have been granted to fathers. The main underpinning of this strategy is the intention to bolster the fathers' contact with and care for their children. Another objective is to share the benefits and burdens of working life and family life between men and women. In this article we analyse how fathers construct different fatherhood practices through negotiations in relation to the leave schemes and different working conditions.

No abstract

Based on interviews with fathers who stay home alone on parental leave in Norway, this article explores how the masculine identities of employed fathers may be affected by caring. Research on changing masculinities has been concerned with the reworking of men's gender identities into caring ones, and this article aims to add empirical knowledge on ways that parental leave for fathers may contribute to undoing gender. Findings support a development toward ''caring masculinities'' in which values and practices of care are integrated into masculine identities without degradation in masculine status. Self-worth is measured against building care competence and being able to contribute love to their children rather than acquisition of status and resources. Findings also show that fathers tend to interpret caring within conventional masculine activities such as ''hard work'' and outdoor challenges.

This article takes as its point of departure the introduction of a new flexible time regime in parts of working life. There has been increased focus on how knowledge work in particular is developing into total commitment organizations where employees put in more and more time at work. Using two case studies from law and computing companies the article focuses on the organization of work and the organization of time in globalized knowledge organizations, and what effect this has on the time practices of male employees who are fathers. In the same period the Nordic countries have introduced state incentives and regulations that aim to help fathers achieve work-life balance. The article also discusses whether this is a fruitful policy, or whether fathers working in flexible time cultures need more deregulation, individual choice and flexible policy measures.

This article analyzes how two different policy measures affect gender equality in child care. In the 1990s, Norway introduced two care policies reflecting different ideas about gender and family life. The fathers' quota policy supports the dual-earner family model while the cash-for-care scheme is based on a family model, providing cash benefits irrespective of the parent's work activities. The father's quota is a gendered policy because six weeks of the parental leave period is reserved for the father. Cash-for-care is gender neutral, in which working parents can choose which of them is to stay at home. The analysis is based on interview data from two studies, one on parental leave and one on cash-for-care. We find that the special quota for fathers has had a positive effect on the participation of fathers in child care. The cash-for-care system does not, however, challenge the existing gender structure in child care.

No abstract

No abstract