"Mothers have worked long and hard to dispel the myth that anyone should be able to single-handedly juggle a job, children, a happy relationship and a meaningful life without ever breaking sweat or (more pertinently) needing help. And to some extent we have succeeded, judging by a survey of 5,000 UK fathers published this week by the charity Working Families which found three-quarters now say they genuinely want to share the parenting load equally with their partners."
"But I've never been asked why I can't just get my husband to do it all, in a way that implies there must be something wrong with me if not. Working fathers' battles are both the same and also subtly different from those of working mothers, and therein lies the faint air of suspicion lingering between two camps essentially fighting the same war."
A survey of 5,000 UK fathers found three-quarters want to share the parenting load equally with their partners. Many men face workplace assumptions when requesting family leave, including being asked where their wife or partner is and having the urgency of family crises challenged. Such hurdles mirror working mothers' experiences but differ subtly, generating suspicion between parents. The lazy assumption that mothers are the default carers undermines women's careers and also hampers men's attempts to be involved fathers. Domestic competition over exhaustion and childcare tasks can obscure shared goals of equal parenting and mutual support.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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