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Why the Gender Equality Duty Matters

Why the Gender Equality Duty Matters. It matters because… family life is changing and Policy and Legislation must keep up with CHANGES WITHIN FAMILIES And because fatherhood is changing: time, satisfaction and “absence”. Fatherhood is changing: time

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Why the Gender Equality Duty Matters

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  1. Why the Gender Equality Duty Matters

  2. It matters because… family life is changing and Policy and Legislation must keep up with CHANGES WITHIN FAMILIES And because fatherhood is changing: time, satisfaction and “absence”

  3. Fatherhood is changing: time More Fathers and Mothers want to share caring and working. Higher involvement:UK fathers carry out 25% of childcare related activities during the week, and one-third at weekends. More where both parents work full-time (EOC 2003) Broader expectations:70% of men & women want fathers to be more involved (Twenty-first Century Dad; EOC 2006).58% of men and 62% of women reject the male breadwinner role (Dads and their babies; EOC 2005)

  4. Fatherhood is changing: satisfaction In Sweden, high take up of parental leave by fathers is linked to lower rates of separation /divorce, as is parents’ more equitable sharing of earning and caring roles (Olah, 2001) Both parents’ beliefs that father-involvement is important plus fathers’ actual involvement predict relationship stability (Hohmann-Marriott, 2006). The most stressed parents tend to be parents who operate traditional and unequal family and work roles (Cowan & Cowan, 2003)

  5. Fatherhood is changing: mostfathers are present at the birth. • At the time of the birth of a baby, 86% of couples are married or living together and 93% of these dads attend the birth • Among the 14% of couples who live separately at the time of the birth: • one third say they are a ‘couple’ • one third say they are ‘friends’ • one third say they are ‘not involved’. However, among these: • 10% of the fathers attend the birth; • 25% sign the birth certificate • 25% are still in touch with mother/infant 9 months later • (Kiernan & Smith, 2003)

  6. Fatherhood is changing: “absence” • Once “absent” doesn’t mean forever absent: among fathers described (by the mother) as “not involved” at the time of the birth, 29% are described as “involved” 3 years later (Kiernan & Smith, 2003) • All over the developed world, separated fathers are less likely to become “absent” than ever before – and see more of their children when they live apart. • In the UK, 1 in 10 couples share the care of their children almost equally after separation; and among the rest 1 in 3 children see their fathers AT LEAST weekly • (Peacey & Hunt, 2008)

  7. FATHERS’ ROLES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT

  8. Fathers Affect Mothers:

  9. Fathers Affect Mothers: • Emotional Support and Wellbeing: • Teenage mothers parent better when their baby’s father gives them good support (Unger & Wandersman, 1988). And as the father disengages, the young mother’s stress increases (Kalil et al, 2005) • Post-natal Depression in mothers is strongly linked with a poor relationship with her baby’s father and negative behaviour by him. But when he is positive and supportive, she is less likely to become depressed, and more likely to recover quickly (Fisher et al, 2006).

  10. Fathers affect mothers: • Pregnancy, Birth and Breastfeeding • Whether (and how much) a mother smokes is more powerfully affected by her partner’s smoking than by anything else (Bottorff et al, 2006) • Fathers who have been taught well to help during the birth tend to do more - and their partner’s birth-experience tends to be better (Diemer, 1997) • Most mothers are disappointed with their experiences with midwives, but are happy with their partner’s presence and support during the birth (Diemer, 1997) • When a father is an active participant in the decision to breastfeed, has a positive attitude towards it and understands the benefits, mothers are more likely to breastfeed and to continue for longer • (Swanson & Power, 2005)

  11. Fathers Affect Mothers (and infants): Alcohol • Expectant mothers are almost four times more likely to have consumed alcohol, and over twice as likely to have used drugs, if the father has drug and alcohol related problems (Teitler, 2001). • Heavy drinking by a father is associated with double the risk of an insecure attachment between a mother and infant (Eiden & Leonard, 1996) • Fathers’ drinking is also linked with relationship conflict - and this is linked to mothers’ drinking (Frank et al, 2002)

  12. Fathers Affect Children

  13. ‘GOOD-ENOUGH’ DADS Some people say like father like son. But I think they are wrong. Like father like daughter. I’m exactly like my Dad. Not in looks – in personality. We both like fishing and picnics. (Emma, Yr6) (DfES/Fathers Direct, 2003) You are my teddy at night. (Naomi, Yr4) (DfES/Fathers Direct, 2003)

  14. GOOD-ENOUGH DADS • Children with highly involved fathers tend to have: • better friendships with better-adjusted children • fewer behaviour problems • lower criminality and substance abuse • higher educational achievement • greater capacity for empathy • non-traditional attitudes to earning and childcare • more satisfying adult sexual partnerships • higher self-esteem and life-satisfaction • (for reviews see Flouri 2005; Pleck and Masciadrelli 2004)

  15. BAD DADS ‘My dad ... make me feel bad, (is) strict, not happy, frightens me, don’t care about me’ (12 year old) (Russell et al., 1999) ‘I love my dad: loveable, fun, mean, unkind ... I hate it when my dad comes home drunk that’s when he starts fighting with my mum’ (11 year-old) (Russell et al., 1999)

  16. BAD DADS • Children tend to do badly when their father’s parenting is poor: e.g. • Behaviour problems in children are strongly associated with father-child conflict, or with the father being harsh or neglectful (Flouri, 2005; Phares,1999) • Harsh parenting by fathers is linked with more aggression in children and adolescents than is harsh parenting by mothers • (Flouri, 2005; Phares,1999)

  17. BAD DADS • Low interest by fathers in children’s education has a stronger negative impact on their achievement than does contact with police, poverty, family type, social class, housing tenure and • child’s personality • (Blanden, 2006). • When fathers have been clinically depressed in the post-natal period their children (particularly boys) still tend to show • behaviour problems and other difficulties many years later • (Ramchandani et al, 2005/2008)

  18. NO DADS • Dear Dad, I only see you once a week … Some small things I ask of you: please come to my school plays and come to parents’ evening to see how I’m getting on. (12 year-old) • (DfES/Fathers Direct, 2003) • Dear Father, I don’t say dear dad, because you have not been a dad to me, have you? My name is Daniel I am Rebecca Buck’s son. You might not remember my mother, but I think about you all the time. (11 year-old) • (DfES/Fathers Direct, 2003)

  19. NO DADS • When children rarely or never see their fathers, they tend to: • demonise or idealise them • (Kraemer, 2005; Gorrell Barnes et al, 1998) • blame themselves for their absence • (Pryor & Rodgers, 2001) • suffer substantial distress, anger and self-doubt (this is still • found in young adults who ‘lost’ their fathers years before) (Fortin et al, 2006; Laumann-Billings & Emery, 1998) • go through similar stages of grief as children who lose their • father through death;.(Guterman & Lee, 2005)

  20. THE IMPACT OF FATHERHOOD ON MEN

  21. Holding/caring for babies makes human males more nurturing • Early engagement predicts long term engagement • Quality of couple relationship predicts quality of father child relationship Within 15 minutes of holding a baby men tend to experience raised levels of hormones associated with: • tolerance/trust • sensitivity to infants • brooding/lactation/bonding The more experienced the male is as a caregiver, the more pronounced the changes (Hardy, 2009) This may in part explain why • fathers who do lots of care tend to be more satisfied with and adjust more quickly to fatherhood (Barclay & Lupton, 1997 and Henderson & Browse, 1991) • the sooner fathers of pre-term infants hold their babies, the sooner they report feelings of warmth and love for them (Sullivan, 1999)

  22. What do father-inclusive services look like? • A father in urban Glasgow should receive the same range and quality of provision as a father in the Borders. • Access to both universal and specific services • Acknowledgement of the changing nature of gender roles…..who cares and who earns… • Engagement with fathers at every transition point in the life-cycle of fatherhood • Full circle from birth to the next generation • From ante-natal provision onwards – antenatal engagement is key • Rigorous and systematic processes of recruitment, data-collection, referral processes. • Using evaluation and monitoring to establish “good enough” Raikes et al.

  23. “Maturity of engagement” with fathers Raikes et al (2005) found fathers almost three times as likely to engage with parenting support/education when the service had reached “Stage 5” in “maturity” in engaging with men: Stage 1: Nearly exclusive focus on the mother-child dyad. Staff engage with a few fathers and only talk about the father if the mother raises the topic. Stage 2: Importance of fathers’ impact on children begins to be recognised. Father-involvement occurs primarily through male-only activities (e.g. “fathers’ groups”)

  24. “Maturity of engagement” with fathers (cont.) • Stage 3: The service: • develops a conscious policy to include fathers • enrols fathers alongside mothers systematically • specifically informs fathers about the service; and • encourages fathers’ involvement in a range of services. • Stage 4: The service • times home visits to meet fathers as well as mothers; and engages thoroughly with fathers during visits • encourages fathers to articulate their own goals and develop family goal plans with mothers. • attempts to meet with fathers more regularly • consistently involves fathers in parent-leadership activities

  25. “Maturity of engagement” with fathers (cont.) • Stage 5: The service • has an agency-wide commitment to attracting/involving fathers • employs and trains a father-involvement co-ordinator • consistently views fathers as co-parents • views programmes as being as much for fathers as for mothers • adjusts service delivery to meet the needs of working fathers/mothers • helps both mothers and fathers to reflect on how each father contributes to his child’s health and development. • discusses fathers regularly (and includes them wherever possible) in case-conferences • programme leaders commit to ongoing critical and reflective self evaluation on engagement with fathers.

  26. “Maturity of engagement” with fathers: • Stage 6: The service • provides whole team with father-involvement training and includes this in induction • holds all staff responsible for engaging with fathers (in job descriptions, supervisions, performance-evaluation etc.) • has strategies to engage with non-resident fathers • is aware of the different needs of different types of fathers – young fathers, fathers in families grappling with disability etc. • signposts fathers effectively and works with those services to • ensure fathers are welcome/assessed • where such services do not exist, lobbies for these • not only gathers details about fathers but assesses their needs holistically • works with both parents on relationship issues or signposts to couple support or lobbies for couple-services

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