Can Men Make Time for Family? Paid Work, Care Work, Work-family Reconciliation Policies, and Gender Equality

Abstract

This article reviews changes in the economy and demographic change in family life to argue that men (especially working-class men) will be increasingly compelled and able to do more family care work (childcare, eldercare, and self-care). Although there is evidence that a younger generation of fathers is more family centered than its predecessors, there is little evidence that the workplace has changed to better enable men to reconcile work and family responsibilities. Yet, across a range of states in the United States, elements of a Nordic-style package of workfamily reconciliation policies-including paid family leave, eldercare, early childhood education, paid sick leave, and minimum wage increases-have been implemented, and these policy initiatives will likely continue (and expand) in the future. I conclude with a review of research on men's uptake of work-family reconciliation policies, and offer some propositions (and call for further research) on how doing so would alter the pattern of gender inequality in family life and in the labor market.

Parenting and management skills: The mediator role of empathy

“…There is little evidence that the workplace has changed to better enable men to reconcile work and family responsibilities (Spitzmueller, Wang, Zhang et al, ). Men's uptake of work‐family reconciliation policies would alter the pattern of gender inequality in family life and in the labor market (Maume, ), as well as potentiating their management skills at workplace. The present study reinforces the importance of considering management competences, including not only the processes inherent to each management task, but also the variables that intensify these competences, integrating emotional and relational dimensions.…”

Work and Family in the Second Decade of the 21st Century

“…The narrow emphasis on the nuclear family and the omission of extended kin in the study of families and work means that our research and theory obscure the experiences of families of color or those with fewer economic resources who tend to rely more on kin than Whites or those more economically advantaged (Bell, Whitney, & Young, ; Sarkisian & Gerstel, ). There are useful empirical exceptions, however, that we can build on: Using a longitudinal survey, Maume () showed not only that men's kin work increased over time but also that men in blue‐collar occupations provided significantly more hours of care to their elderly relatives than men in white‐collar occupations. Maume () hypothesized that working‐class men were more likely to be employed in part‐time jobs and night shifts, which allowed them to do more kin work.…”

...hvað segið þið strákar? Upplifun kvenmillistjórnenda af stöðu sinni, möguleikum og hindrunum í starfi

“…Slíkt kemur niður á frammistöðu þeirra; þaer trúa að þaer séu ekki jafn haefar og karlmenn og þannig viðhaldast staðalímyndirnar (Gneezy, Niederle og Rustichini, 2003). Staðalímyndir eru þrautseigar og þótt konur vinni fleiri launaðar vinnustundir en áður og karlar fleiri ólaunaðar, eru karlar samt enn álitnir meginfyrirvinnur heimilisins og mikið lagt upp úr því að konur séu sýnilegar í móðurhlutverkinu (Maume, 2016). Þegar einstaklingar takast á við hlutverk sem gengur gegn staðalímynd kynjanna (e. gender-stereotype-incongruent), líkt og þegar kona sest í forstjórastól, maeta þeir mun meiri gagnrýni ef þeim verða á mistök heldur en ef um vaeri að raeða einstakling af kyni sem passar við staðalímyndina (Brescoll, Dawson og Uhlmann, 2010).…”