Fathers also want to have it all, study says

Fathers also want to have it all, study saysFathers also want to have it all, study saysHave you seen the T-shirt slogan Dads dont babysit (its called parenting)?This slogan calls out the gendered language we often totenstill use to talk about fathers. Babysitters are temporary caregivers who step in to help out the parents. But the fact is that fathers are spending mora time with their children than ever before. In fact,American fathers todayspend 65 percent more time with their children during the workday than they did 30 years ago.According to the2016 National Study of the Changing Workforce, almost half of fathers in heterosexual relationships say they share caregiving responsibilities equally or take on a greater share of caregiving than their partner.This week we witnessed the release of the firstState of Americas Fathers, a report that draws on numerous social science research studies as well as new analysis of the 2016 National Study of the Changing Workforce.Looking for an i nspiring way to start your day? Sign up forMorning MotivationIts our friendly Facebook robot that will send you a quick bedrngnise every weekday morning to help you start strong. Sign up here by clicking Get StartedAs a sociologist who studies fatherhood worldwide, I think the most important homilie of this report is a simple one Fathers are parents, too.But dads desire to have it all, as we once talked about in relation to working mothers, means that they are also having difficulties successfully combining work and family. The report, among other things, suggests that we need to pass paid, non-transferable, job-protected leave. I agree.Work-life balance is important to men, tooThe State of Americas Fathers report highlights that a majority of fathers experience work-life conflict, and that this has increased over time. For example,60 percent of fathersin dual-earner families say they have problems balancing work and family, compared to 35 percent of such fathers in 1977.This is lik ely due to the fact that a majority of fathers feel they dont spend enough time with their children. This situation may be due to the continued pressures on men to earn a good income. According tothe 2016 National Study of the Changing Workforce, 64 percent of Americans feel that fathers should contribute financially even if taking care of the home and children. Millennials are just as likely to agree with this statement as baby boomers.In my own research published in my bookSuperdads,fathers continually expressed frustration at not being able to balance work and family. Its no longer a question of whether fathers want to be more active in their childrens lives, but how they will do so when workplace and government policies do not offer the support necessary.Men need work-life policies as much as womenA big part of the problem is that the workplace has not really adjusted to working women and caregiving men.Instead the idea of theideal worker, someone (usually a man) who can focus e ntirely on work while a partner (usually a woman) takes care of everything else, still holds power among employers. But the State of Americas Fathers report reveals that most workers have some family responsibilities, and only a minority of families fit the traditional breadwinner father, homemaker mother model. Only 20 percent of couples live off of one income. This means that most fathers have partners, female or male, who also work, and more single fathers have shared or primary custody of their children. These men do not have the choice to push off caregiving onto someone else.Like working mothers, working fathers face stigma when they seek greater flexibility in the workplace. A very similar number of fathers (43 percent) and mothers (41 percent) think asking for flexibility could have a negative impact on their careers.In addition, there isevidencethat leave-taking negatively impacts chances of promotion, frequency of raises, and wertmiger zuwachs evaluations, and these penalt ies are stronger for men than women. Men who seek flexibility are even seen asless masculine.The benefits of father involvementWhy should we be so concerned about mens ability to balance work and family?The simple answer is that fathers who take leave and spend more time with their children are really good for their families. Theirchildren benefitfrom better cognitive, behavioral, psychological and social outcomes.According to the State of Americas Fathers report, these fathers also pave a path toward greater gender equality as their sons are more accepting of gender equality while their daughters feel more empowered. Their partners benefit because they are more likely to be satisfied with their relationships and less likely to experiencepostpartum depression. They are also more able to focus on their own careers, which has the potential to benefit the larger economy as well, with one estimate showing anincrease of 5 percent in GDPif womens labor force participation rate equaled men s rate.Fathers themselves benefitby engaging in healthier behaviors and creating more ties to family and community.And in the end, men are just as capable of caring for children as women. It is the act of providing direct care for a child that increases ones capacity for caregiving. Mensbody chemistryreacts the same way as womens to close physical contact with infants. In other words, fathers show similar hormonal changes, and this means they can experience similar levels of bonding with their children.Paid parental leave could helpIn an analysis of policies in 185 countries, the International Labour Organization finds that theU.S. is only one of two countriesthat does not guarantee paid parental leave. In fact, theU.S. ranks dead last among 38 OECD nationsin government-supported time off for new parents.Our only national policy, theFamily and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993, offers up to 12 weeks of leave, but in addition to being unpaid, it only covers about three-fifths of worke rs due to a number of restrictions. The act only applies to employers with 50 or more employees and only covers employees who have worked for that employer for at least one year. Additionally, 20 percent of employers that are required to comply with the FMLA offer fewer than 12 weeks of leave to employees who are spouses/partners of new mothers (mainly fathers), in direct violation of the law. Amazingly,only 12 percentof U.S. workers in the private sector have access to paid family leave, and this applies to a paltry5 percent for low-income workers.Worldwide paternity leave is becoming more prevalent, with71 countriesnow offering it. Fathers are most likely to take leave when it is specifically designated for them. Around90 percent of fathers in Nordic countriestake leave.These programs may seem out of reach, but we have seen successful paid leave in the U.S. Funded by a very small payroll tax of 0.9 percent, Californias groundbreaking Paid Family Leave program helped new parents sp end more time caring for their children. At the same time most employers have seen no cost increases or abuse and in fact witnessless turnoveras employees are able to care for their new children and return to work.We are also starting to see more models of paid leave amongcompaniessuch as Ernst Young, Facebook and Twitter, but I would argue we need something more far-reaching. The FAMILY Act, for example, proposed by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York to provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave, is a start.This will help fathers to have it all, and be the parents they want to be.Gayle Kaufman served as a reviewer for the State of Americas Fathers report.This article was originally published on TheConversation.com.