This article analyses the role of gender, parenthood, and work flexibility measures and the mediating role of stereotypes on the likelihood of achieving an internal promotion in Spain. We hypothesize that employers favour fathers over mothers and disfavour flexible workers (flexibility stigma) because they are perceived, respectively, as less competent and less committed. We also hypothesize that employers reflect their gender values in the selection process. These hypotheses are tested using data from a survey experiment in which 71 supervisors from private companies evaluate 426 short vignettes describing six different candidates for promotion into positions that require decision-making and team supervision skills. Several candidate characteristics are experimentally manipulated, while others such as skills and experience in the company are kept constant to minimize the risk of statistical discrimination. Contrary to our expectations, fathers are not preferred in promotion, as they are not perceived as being more competent than mothers. However, we find that flexibility leads to lower promotion scores, partly due to its association with a lack of commitment. Although the statutory right to reduce working hours for care reasons seems a major social achievement, this experiment shows that mothers may be indirectly penalized, as they are the main users of this policy.

The increase in fathers’ involvement in childcare in Western societies has not translated into an equal distribution of childcare between mothers and fathers. While some couples actually succeed in “undoing gender” when the first child arrives, their characteristics that define them are not yet clear. This article provides four different explanations that contribute to understanding how parents share routine care in Spain, using a sample of dual-earner, heterosexual parents from the Spanish Time Use Survey 2010. The results show that fathers are more likely to be “equal sharers” when they earn less than their spouse; do not hold traditionally masculine jobs (e.g., managers or blue-collar workers); have time available and, more important, their spouses are not available from 5 p.m. onward. In line with previous research, this study provides evidence that dismantles the “myth” that higher status employees, and/or those with college education, are more egalitarian in practice.

No abstract

Los padres de niños pequeños deben ser interactivos, responsables y estar disponibles para cuidarlos (Lamb, Pleck, y Levine 1985). Esta investigación pretende arrojar luz sobre hasta qué punto los horarios de trabajo en España permiten a los padres estar disponibles para sus hijos cuando estos salen del colegio o la guardería. Usando datos de uso del tiempo, se pretende contribuir a la literatura ofreciendo un análisis detallado de cuánto y cuándo se trabaja a lo largo del día, así como su relación con el estatus ocupacional y parental, el género y la incidencia de la crisis. Se analiza el “tiempo disponible” para la familia, entendido como el tiempo en que no se está en el trabajo, excluyendo las horas estándar “de oficina” (de 8 a 17). Los resultados muestran que ser madre aún tiene una relación directa con el tiempo disponible, no así la paternidad. Además, el tiempo disponible presenta una relación compleja con la estructura de clase, que la crisis no ha alterado. Por último, se comprueba una tendencia convergente entre hombres y mujeres, debido a la reducción del tiempo disponible de estas últimas.

Increasingly, men are challenging the assumption that care is a feminine task and are involving themselves in childcare and the care of dependent adults. However, this does not necessarily have consequences for their work, as they very rarely make costly adaptations in their working lives. In this study, we propose a definition of a man in care (MIC) as a working father who, in order to meet care needs, has adapted his working life in a way that potentially entails a financial penalty. We analyze the prevalence of men in care among men living with children below the age of 15 across the EU‐27 plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and the UK using recent representative data (the European Labour Survey and its 2018 ad hoc module on work‐life balance). We find that although the number of men engaging in costly work adaptations is still very low when compared to their female counterparts, the characteristics of these men can be clearly outlined: they have a non‐manual occupation (managers excluded), they have temporary contracts or are self‐employed, they are partnered to women who hold jobs of 40 or more hours a week and have a high educational attainment, and they work in family‐friendly companies. Also, at the context level, the prevalence of MIC is clearly related to gender equality and values. However, we do not find evidence of any country having reached the universal caregiver model proposed by Nancy Fraser, including those with more advanced gender and welfare regimes.