Caring masculinities in action

Paid Parental Leave in Correlation with Changing Gender Role Attitudes

“…However, from a long-term perspective, quantitative and qualitative data on women's employment in Austria show that women tend to reduce their paid working hours after becoming a parent (Statistics Austria 2021a;Schmidt 2021;Riederer and Berghammer 2019;Mauerer and Schmidt 2019;Kreimer 2018). Moreover, there is a gendered division of labor and employment in different branches of the Austrian economy, as certain occupations continue to be dominated by either women or men (Sardadvar 2021a(Sardadvar , 2021bScambor et al 2019). To investigate the correlating effects of these inequalities in greater detail, the presented research applies an interpretative sociological approach that explores parents' agreements with one another and with their employers before, during, and after claiming childcare allowances or taking parental leave.…”

“…Gender inequality in the provision of unpaid childcare has long-term ramifications, as it increases the risk of social insecurity and poverty for women, especially in old age. To close this gap in the future, it is essential to promote men's participation in paid and unpaid childcare, and gender equity in the provision of (child-)care more broadly (Eliott 2016;Scambor et al 2019;Magaraggia et al 2019;Aulenbacher et al 2014). In recent decades, there has been a stronger policy focus on encouraging parents to provide private, unpaid care while receiving childcare benefits, even as state responsibility in the provision of childcare is reduced (Brannen et al 2023).…”

“…These new policies successfully promoted fathers' involvement in the family and made men's caring roles more visible (Eydal and Rostgaard 2014;O'Brien and Wall 2017;Crespi and Ruspini 2016). However, while the foundations of the traditional gendered division of labor underwent modifications in the 20th century and the early decades of the 21st century, the basic dividing lines remained (Scambor et al 2019;Musumeci and Santero 2018;O'Brien et al 2007). Policies aimed at tackling gender-segregated spheres have primarily promoted women's employment (Oláh et al 2018, p. 50).…”

Gender segregation in culturally feminized work: Theory and evidence of boys’ capacity for care.

“…Caring masculinities has become a widely cited concept within the psychology of men and masculinities and is positioned to continue positively shaping the field (e.g., Kluczyńska, 2017; Puerta, 2020). As Scambor et al (2019) stress, “supporting caring masculinities in paid care work may open the floor to critical reflections of gender norms, challenging the model that considers women as natural carers and practices of traditional masculinities” (p. 66). The developmental angle that we advance through this paper brings a constructive challenge to Elliott’s work, however.…”

“…By ‘caring for’ (doing care work), nurturing attitudes and emotions can develop in men” (p. 255). Scambor et al’s (2019) also endorse the cause of reforming men for the better: “We refer to caring masculinities as a guideline model that should be used to support men’s caring activities (mainly, but not restricted to, professions) and a change among men toward greater gender equality (not restricted to the labor market).”…”