Men’s share of care for children and professional care

Abstract

The Study on the Role of Men in Gender Equality (2011-2012) shows a remarkable change in men's participation in care for children and domestic work in certain parts of Europe. Especially in Northern countries of Europe, men became more involved in care-giving roles between 2005 and 2010 while in the same period of time, decreases in the men's share were reported, especially from some Southern and Post-socialist countries with low share rates. On the other hand, there has been a growing under-representation of men in professional care work. Data indicate that in the past decade this already heavily feminised sector has experienced a further decline in the participation of men. Based on intersectional analysis, the paper discusses the most relevant factors associated with men's larger involvement in care for children and professional care. The variation of men's share runs both between and within countries, with socioeconomic position as one important variable.

»Najboljše, da me imate kar pod očeta«

“…So heterogena skupina moških z različnimi skrbstvenimi izkušnjami, ki obsega biološke, socialne očete, rejnike, posvojitelje, očete s skrbništvom za otroke, očete v družinah istospolnih partnerskih zvez ipd. Znanilce novega, tako imenovanega vključenega očetovstva 3 potrjujejo večinoma raziskave z očeti srednjega razreda v heteroseksualnih zvezah v zahodnih in skandinavskih državah (Hanlon, 2012;Scambor, Hrženjak, Bergmann in Holter, 2015), gejevski očetje pa ostajajo spregledana in nevidna skupina očetov.…”

Kvalitativno istraživanje prekarizacije tržišta rada i angažiranog očinstva u Sloveniji

“…Following the evidence collected in the Europe-wide research The Role of Men in Gender Equality (Scambor et al, 2015), key insights have been gained on the emergence of "caring masculinitiesˮ. Men's share of unpaid work at home did not increase much in Europe in the 1990s.…”

“…While analysing the psychological consequences of different types of fathering a child, Lamb (2010), for instance, pointed to the significance of social support and institutional practices for involved fatherhood. There is a consensus in fatherhood studies that "new fathers" confront the contrasting expectations to perform well as fathers and as "ideal, care-free workersˮ and breadwinners at the same time (Kaufman, 2013;Scambor et al, 2015;Hanlon, 2012). The potential benefits of active fatherhood for men have been analysed by Holter (2007) and they include better quality of life and health and better relationships with partners (less probability of conflict and violence).…”

“…Where possibilities of work/care reconciliation do exist, they are assumed to be chiefly used by women as mothers, while men who want to use reconciliation mechanisms often face a lack of understanding and prejudice among employers and their fellow workers. The lack of the possibility for men to reconcile paid work and care is gradually gaining recognition in the European Union (Scambor et al, 2015;Crespi and Ruspini, 2016), but debates still often fail to account for the effects of labour market flexibilisation imposed by numerous new forms of employment. The labour market reveals itself as the critical structure determining fatherhood, not only due to the traditional identification of masculinity with paid work (Hanlon, 2012), but also because the position of men in the labour market importantly determines their access to employment that provides the resources and time they can dedicate to fathering, duration of paid leave, health insurance, parental benefit etc.…”

“…Engagement refers to direct, one-on-one interactions with the child; accessibility refers to times when a parent is available for interaction with the child, but is not presently engaged in direct interaction; responsibility refers to taking ultimate responsibility for ensuring the child's welfare. The gender equality perspective on involved fatherhood also includes a notion of equal division of daily child care routine between the parents (Levtov et al, 2015;Scambor et al, 2015). the degree of a worker's autonomy, income amount, paid leave duration, terms of promotion, organisational culture and possibilities for reconciling work and private life, the labour market promotes either subordination or autonomy of private life in relation to paid work.…”