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1、State of the Worlds Fathers IrelandForeword 4Executive Summary 5Introduction 6What Does Care Mean?7Some Historical Context 8Outcomes of Care Inequality 9Fatherhood 10Sample&Methodology 11Attitudes to Care 12Gendered Attitudes to Care 14Who cares?How much time is spent caring by task 15Paternity Leav
2、e 16Conclusion 18Contents4Damien PeeloCEO,TreoirSen CookeCEO,Mens Development NetworkForewordFathers want to care for their children.This is one of the key findings from the Irish data gathered as part of the global research,The State of the Worlds Fathers.This comes as no surprise to those of us wh
3、o work with fathers.Another key finding is that most mothers also want fathers to take up a greater caring role in their childrens lives.However,women are still responsible for the vast majority of care of their children even though over 80%of the men in this research felt they shared caring respons
4、ibilities equally with their partners.Equality in care remains one of the missing pieces for womens equality and therefore a more equal society.In this sphere,equality for women will only be achieved if care is shared equally among men and women.The perceptions of how much men care for children comp
5、ared to how their partners perceive their caring role makes for interesting reading.Fathers may think they do more than they do or share care equally with the other parent however,the caring roles are still gendered,and housework is mainly the domain of women.Notwithstanding this,it is clear from th
6、is research that men and women want to share the care of their children and believe doing so is one of the most important jobs they can do in their lives.This must include the sharing of domestic duties too.The research is a timely reminder that things are changing in relation to how we care for our
7、 children.Parents from an older generation have seen attitudes to care change positively in their lifetime.Patriarchal,sexist attitudes to gendered roles in the home are reducing as the majority of participants in this research demonstrated.However,while we now have more men as primary carers,women
8、still take on the vast majority of care.This research would indicate that men want to see this change as much as women and that antiquated gendered notions of care and household duties are no longer acceptable to both men and women.This year the Irish government have made a commitment to having a re
9、ferendum on care and will propose removing sexist language from Article 41.2 of the Irish constitution.This article currently states:In particular,the State recognises that by her life within the home,woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved.The State shall
10、,therefore,endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home.There have been many calls since the Constitution was enacted to abolish this provision.The National Womens Council of Ireland have highlighted that I
11、f passed,removing this provision will bring significant change.It would recognise the reality of womens lives and ambitions in modern Irish society and the importance of care for all of society.This research shows that men desire that change too and that it needs to be delivered in partnership with
12、women.The Mens Development Network and Treoir collaborated on the Irish aspect of this global research.We are delighted to work together on what is a timely contribution to forthcoming discussions on a constitutional referendum on Article 41.2.For both organisations this work confirms what we encoun
13、ter on a daily basis,that many fathers want to be active in caring for their children,that they want to take time out from their careers or work part time and be considered as“a go to”person if their child needs a parent during the working day.While legislation to enable this has improved such as pa
14、ternity leave,parental leave and blended working more policy and legislative initiatives are needed alongside public discourse and the continuing shift in attitudes.We welcome this research and are delighted that we have Irish specific data that can be compared to the global study,that is showing th
15、at there is a strong desire to break down the patriarchal systems that have created inequalities for women,and by default an unequal and unhealthy society.We invite you to read this research and join the growing impetus to create a more equal and just society where fathers and mothers are co-authors
16、 of a more enlightened approach to the delivery of care to our children.State of the Worlds Fathers Ireland 5There were 507 respondents in the Irish sample,232 men,267 women and a further eight who identified as other under the gender categorisation.All participants were aged between 25 and 65.It fo
17、und that caring for children brought joy to parents with 84%of men and 81%of women saying that it was the most important thing they had done in their lives.Over two-thirds of men and three-quarters of women surveyed said would give up career opportunities to care for children.69%of men and 78%of wom
18、en stated that they would be prepared to work part-time to care for their children.Two-thirds of men and 80%of women surveyed disagreed with statements around patriarchal gender attitudes relating to care and roles of men and women in the home.Men are taking their care and household responsibilities
19、 seriously with 82%stating that they share caring responsibilities equally and 86%stating that they feel as responsible for care work as their partners.Despite this,they still lag significantly behind women on hours spent and on average women spend one hour and 18 minutes more per day on care and ho
20、usework than men do.Assuming constancy of effort across the seven days of the week this would mean that women spend an extra 9.1 hours per week than men doing the activities associated with the day to day running of the house.Paid caring leave is recognised by the majority of both men and women as b
21、eing of benefit to themselves,to their partners,to their children and to their careers.Despite this 37%of men and 20%of women said that they would not take such leave were it to be available.Executive SummaryThis research is part of a larger project entitled State of the Worlds Fathers which has run
22、 every 2 years since 2015.This is the first time Irish data has been included in the data.Globally this round of the survey was answered by 12,511 people in 17 countries.MenWomen84%81%MenWomen69%78%State of the Worlds Fathers Ireland 6IntroductionTodays family is neither more nor less perfect than t
23、hat of yesterday;it is different because circumstances are different.It is more complex because the environment in which it exists is more complex and that is all(Durkheim 1978 1888 p.218).The quote above comes from French sociologist Emile Durkheim 135 years ago,yet his words continue to be just as
24、 relevant today.Social change is constant and has profound influences on the organisation of the economy,society,culture and broader social life in general.This constant fluidity and changeability of social life has had particularly strong influences on the family and the processes and practices of
25、care and social reproduction.This study is part of a larger global survey which was carried out across 13 countries and aimed to examine attitudes around care,fatherhood,and the gendered division of household labour.It looked at attitudes to care as well as practical issues such as the availability
26、and desirability of paternity leave and care leave.It also looked at how care interacts with work in the formal labour market and how structural factors are influential in the practices of delivering care.This report will look specifically at the data gathered which relates to childcare and fatherho
27、od.We see the equitable sharing of household and caring responsibilities as a fundamental facet of the move towards gender equality.Much like charity,gender equality begins at home,yet at present women do more of the housework and a higher proportion of the caring work than men.Research by the Econo
28、mic and Social Research Institute(2019)tells us that women spend more than twice as much time caring and more than twice the amount of time on housework than men do.This,however,is not the way it must be,our findings suggest that everyone sees the benefits of a more equitable division of childcare a
29、nd housework.The vast majority of our respondents saw caring for their children as being the most enjoyable and important thing in their lives.They saw it as being worth giving up career opportunities for,and similarly reported in large numbers that they would be prepared to work part-time to care f
30、or their children.As such it is apparent that more needs to be done to encourage men to take up a larger proportion of care work in the home.This includes actions to normalise the taking of care leave from work,actions to increase paid paternity leave and the taking of concerted actions to teach you
31、ng people about the value and benefits of care.6Todays family is neither more nor less perfect than that of of yesterday;it is different because circumstances are different.It is more complex because the environment in which it exists is more complex and that is all.mile DurkheimState of the Worlds
32、Fathers Ireland 7The word care is one which covers a broad spectrum of activities carried out by a diverse range of people under a wide variety of circumstances.We all have a relational and shifting identification with care,over the course of our lives we will care for others and be cared for.Simila
33、rly care is not always a one-way activity and instead can be reciprocal.Care is delivered formally and informally,sometimes in exchange for money,and more frequently as part of relations of kinship.Care is an inevitability;it is woven deep into the fabric of our existence as we will all give and rec
34、eive care at numerous points in our lives.When we care for our children,we do not do so in the expectation that we will be paid and instead act in terms of altruism and love.In doing this we benefit from the bonds of love and affection that are the essence of humanity.Yet despite this there is a fin
35、ancial value associated with care as time spent caring is time that cant be spent working or earning money and so there are tangible costs which are borne by carers.As the majority of care is carried out by women it is they who most often pay these costs in terms of their career their pay and their
36、pensions.Care work which is predominantly done by women in the private domain of the home has historically allowed men to exercise control in the public realms of commerce,politics and wider culture.Care work is also fundamentally undervalued.Where care is carried out in return for money it is frequ
37、ently for low wages.The provision of care has become an industry in and of itself where profits are extracted from the processes of meeting peoples most basic and intrinsic needs.The Care Collective write of how the communal bonds of care have slowly been replaced by individualised notions of resili
38、ence,wellness and self-improvement,promoted through a ballooning self-care industry which relegates care to something we are supposed to buy for ourselves on a personal basis(2020,p.2).In these terms care becomes just another commodity as people need to pay others to care for their children or elder
39、ly relatives.Yet this can engender profound inequalities as care can be expensive and so unaffordable for many.Care is fundamental to the working of all societies,a briefing paper published by Oxfam in 2020 estimated the global monetary value of unpaid care at$10.8 trillion annually.In the UK the In
40、stitute for Public Policy Research places the annual figure for unpaid household and care work there at 451 billion.These figures are based solely on wage rates and do not take account of other network effects which give further monetary value to the practice of care.These monetary gifts of free car
41、e are described by Beverley Skeggs as being crucial to capital and the economy as in their absence there would be significant problems and costs reproducing,servicing and sustaining the future,present and ex-workforce(Skeggs 2014,p.12).What Does Care Mean?Care is an inevitability;it is woven deep in
42、to the fabric of our existence 7State of the Worlds Fathers Ireland 8Irish society has seen seismic social change since the 1950s as it has moved from being an insular inward-looking country to one of the most globalised in the world.Living standards have increased exponentially with life expectancy
43、 rising from 66 in 1950 to an average of 81 for men and 84 for women in 2022.With some periodic exceptions outward migration from Ireland has fallen drastically and Ireland has moved to being a country of significant inward migration.Levels of education among the population have seen similar increas
44、es with Ireland having one of the most educated populations in the European Union.There have also been fundamental changes in the composition of the formal labour market particularly regarding the inclusion of women.The number of women engaged in formal employment has more than quadrupled since the
45、1960s.In 1966 there were 289,144 women in formal employment,the most recent Labour Force Survey Data for Quarter 4 of 2022 tells us that there were 1,198,000 women in formal employment.While these changes are welcome it must also be noted that women are far more likely than men to be in part-time em
46、ployment with 381,000 females and 174,000 males in part-time work.Similarly,the latest figures reported by Deloitte Ireland in May 2023 show a median gender pay gap of 10.2%and women are far less likely than men to be in positions of leadership or seniority.Women are thus participating in the labour
47、 market from a position of disadvantage and one of the main reasons for this is the unequitable distribution of care and housework.To answer the question as to how this has happened,we must take a brief historical look at the role of women in Ireland.Despite the active role played by women in the Ir
48、ish Revolution,successive governments in the nascent Irish state passed laws and regulations which severely curtailed the rights and roles of women in the public and civic sphere.Bunreacht Na hireann includes in Article 41.2 provisions which recognise the womens life and duties in the home and endea
49、vors to ensure their protection.The Marriage Bar which was formally in place between the years of 1924 to 1973 legally required women to retire from their civil service jobs after marriage.While there was a legal Bar in the civil service Foley notes the deep cultural influence(Foley 2022,p.61)of the
50、 marriage bar as it was widely observed in other spheres of employment such as teaching and banking.The rationale for the Marriage Bar was that at a time of economic stagnation with fewer jobs to go around it was men as heads of the family who were prioritised for work while women stayed home and lo
51、oked after the domestic realm.In these terms the male breadwinner was paid a family wage.The male breadwinner model enforced a gender separation where men were predominantly the ones who went out to the formal workplace and women stayed at home to care for children and to look after domestic duties.
52、There were a range of laws enacted in the early years of the Irish Republic which served to legally enforce this exclusion of women from public and civic life.The 1925 Civil Service Regulation Bill precluded women from applying for certain jobs in the Civil Service,The Juries Bill 1927 formally excl
53、uded women from sitting on Juries.The Conditions of Employment Act 1936 restricted where women could work by giving the Minister for Industry and Commerce the power to limit the number of women employed in any industry and to limit the types of industry that could employ women.The same act prohibite
54、d women from doing industrial work between the hours of 10pm and 8 am.Many of the inequalities evident today spring from these and many other historical injustices which were enacted upon women.Some Historical Context81966 289,144 Women in formal employment in Ireland 2022 1,198,000 Women in formal
55、employment in Ireland State of the Worlds Fathers Ireland 9Outcomes of Care InequalityWe have already noted some of the long-term outcomes of gender inequality particularly those which relate to gender pay gaps and equality in working conditions.A further feature of the poor distribution of care is
56、that of gender inequalities in public life.The European Institute for Gender Equality gives an annual report which scores EU member states to see how far they are from reaching gender equality.The index uses a scale of 1 to 100 where 1 denotes total inequality and 100 denotes full equality.The score
57、s are compiled based on metrics in 6 core domains namely:Work Money Knowledge Time Power HealthThe most recent report from 2021 showed that Ireland ranks highly overall in gender equality with a creditable score of 73.1 which places it 7th overall and 5.1 points above the EU average of 68.Despite th
58、is relatively high position overall the area where Ireland scores particularly low is that of equality of access to power and political decision making with women accounting for a mere 26%of ministers,27%of members of parliament and 25%share of regional assemblies.McGing and White note how the selec
59、tion process for picking electoral candidates favours well-networked individuals,usually with local political experience and a history of party activism(2012,p.10)while also noting how,due to the persistent sexual division of care in Irish society women are less likely to possess these types of capi
60、tal to the same extent as men(2012,p.5).A report by the National Council of Women in Ireland(2019)noted how access to childcare was a significant barrier for the participation of women in electoral politics while noting that such barriers were not as significant for male candidates.Womens implicit a
61、nd explicit caring respons-ibilities(Hanlon 2018,p.43)give many hidden advantages to men in the labour market,politics and other areas of public life.Yet at the same time this advantage given to men in the public sphere can be seen in some ways as a disadvantage in the private domain of home and fam
62、ily life.9Ireland scores particularly low in equality of access to power and political decision making for women.25%26%27%Women in Regional AssembliesWomen Members of ParlimentWomen as MinistersState of the Worlds Fathers Ireland 10FatherhoodConversely the creation of masculinity in terms of being t
63、he breadwinner or provider has often acted to exclude men from the valuable and emotionally rewarding practices of care within their own families.In this way historical normative dimensions around care have created a form of hegemonic masculinity(Connell 2005)which is focused more on the provision o
64、f material goods for the family rather than love and care.Connell(1995)speaks of the patriarchal dividend where men benefit from the patriarchal structures even if they dont agree with or adhere to them.In care terms however Bailey reconsiders this and writes of the patriarchal deficit where broader
65、 structures serve to exclude and marginalise fathers as structural influences of employment and culturally dominant essentialist ideas about gender place men who are fathers in an ambiguous position(Bailey 2014,p.2).This ambiguous position is one where men are expected to be providers and to be succ
66、essful at work while simultaneously being loving,engaged,and involved fathers.Often the ability to be able to put the desired amount of time into fatherhood and care is curtailed by responsibilities in work and fathers cannot put as much time into their families as they would like as they must negot
67、iate with and balance the competing demands of work and family life.These normative forms of breadwinner masculinity can serve to become an obstacle in building intimate relationships with children or other family members as the very features of loving relationships such as displaying emotions or ph
68、ysical closeness are traits which some types of masculinity act to repress.Research in the Irish context by Hanlon(2012)described how men defined primary caring roles as being unnatural or abnormal for men and thus caring is frequently excluded as a characteristic of acceptable masculine identities.
69、Sveva Magaraggia writes of how care holds the potential for a transformation of intimacy in fatherchild relationships(2012,p.81)and of how this transformation holds the potential for the re-evaluation of the work of social reproduction.She describes how identities are forged in everyday practices an
70、d how the meaningful inclusion of fathers in such practices of care holds the potential for a transformation of the prescriptive character of socially validated and rewarded aspirations(2012,p.88).Being involved in the quotidian activities of care and fatherhood offers the potential for an opening u
71、p of the symbolic order and a questioning,re-evaluation and legitimisation of different forms of masculinities.Such newly validated masculinities should be those which are centred on an ethics of love and care.The unequal distribution of care between the genders means that both the burdens and the b
72、enefits are unfairly divided.The equitable division of care and housework would mean that womens involvement in the public sphere would be on a more equal footing but at the same time it would also mean that men and their families would benefit from them taking a more active role in day to day pract
73、ices of care.We have already seen how the designation of the responsibility of care to women has a strong historical and normative basis and we have seen above how this contributed to their relegation from the public and civic sphere.10State of the Worlds Fathers Ireland 11Sample&MethodologyThis sur
74、vey is part of a larger project entitled State of the Worlds Fathers which is run in conjunction with Equimundo.The survey has run every 2 years since 2015 and this is its 5th iteration.Globally this round of the survey was answered by 12,511 people in 17 countries namely Argentina,Canada,Rwanda,Sou
75、th Africa,Portugal,Spain,Lebanon,Turkey,China,Mexico,Sweden USA Chile,Croatia,Australia,and India.This is the first time that the study had been run in Ireland and the surveys were carried out via telephone in December 2022.For the Irish sample there were 507 respondents 232 men,267 women and a furt
76、her 8 who identified as other under the gender categorisation.Of the 507 respondents surveyed 326 reported having children,with the breakdown being 156 women and 167 men and 3 other gender participants who had children.All participants were aged between 25 and 65 with approximately 70%of participant
77、s aged between 25 and 44.Approximately 35%of participants were aged between 25 and 34,a further 35%were aged between 35 and 44.20%of the sample were aged 45 to 50 and approximately 10%were aged 55 to 65.35.7%of our sample did not have children while 44.18%had children and were living with them and t
78、he other parent.The remaining 20%of participants had children with 10.26%living with the children but not with the other parent,4.14%were co-parenting but not living with their children,and the remaining 5.72%were living with their partners children.The composition of the sample means that we have c
79、aptured a range of family types and living situations.The survey has run every 2 years since 2015 and this is its 5th iteration.Globally this round of the survey was answered by 12,511 people in 17 countries.Family Composition%Living with children and other parentNo childrenLiving with children with
80、out the other parentLiving with your parents childrenCo-parenting but not living with children5.72%4.14%44.18%35.7%10.26%11State of the Worlds Fathers Ireland 1212There was a high value placed on caring for children by our participants.The graph below shows the percentage of those who agreed with ea
81、ch of the statements.Questions were asked in a Likert Scale format where respondents were asked whether they strongly agree,agree,slightly agree,strongly disagree,disagree,slightly disagree or rather not say.For ease of presentation the data presented here is an amalgamation of those who agreed in a
82、ny way with the statements.Both males and females described caring for children as being one of the most enjoyable things in their lives with 84%of male respondents and 81%of female respondents agreeing with this statement.At the same time however a quarter of female respondents and 36%of male respo
83、ndents describe caring for their children as more exhausting than enjoyable.This demonstrates the complexity and ambiva-lence people can display towards parental care work,it shows how caring for children while being enjoyable is also hard work.It is worth noting however that men are 11%more likely
84、to see this as being the case.Women were 9%more likely to agree that caring for children is worth giving up career opportunities for and 9%more likely to consider working part-time to care for their children.It is at the same time worth noting that the number of fathers who were prepared to work par
85、t-time or give up career opportunities is so high with approximately two-thirds of male participants agreeing with these statements.These attitudes to care show that while it is difficult and tiring for many it is a source of great joy for the majority.Care for children is also viewed by most partic
86、ipants as being more valuable than career or work with approximately two-thirds of men and three-quarters of women surveyed agreeing with these sentiments.Attitudes to CareCaring for my children is one of the most enjoyable things in my lifeMenWomenMenWomenCaring for my children is more exhausting t
87、han enjoyable84%36%81%25%MenWomenMenWomenCaring for my children is worth giving up some career opportunities forI would consider working part-time for my child65%69%74%78%State of the Worlds Fathers Ireland Both males and females described caring for children as being one of the most enjoyable thing
88、s in their lives with 84%of male respondents and 81%of female respondents agreeing with this statement.My partner and I share care responsibilities equallyMenWomenMenWomenCaring for my children would be more enjoyable if my partner did their partMenWomenMenWomenI feel as responsible as my partner fo
89、r care workI do more care work at home because my partner has a higher paying jobThe next set of questions examined participants opinions around the sharing of childcare,there are notable disparities between men and women in the answers to the first statement my partner and I share care responsibili
90、ties equally with 82%of men and 62%of women agreeing with this.The difference of 20%here is perhaps demonstrative of how men possibly over-estimate the amount of care work they do as well as the extent to which these responsibilities are shared.There is a similar difference between how men and women
91、 responded to the statement I feel as responsible as my partner for care work with 86%of men and 71%of women agreeing with this statement.The third statement respondents were asked to respond to is caring for my children would be more enjoyable if my partner did their part.Here 39%of men and 51%of w
92、omen agreed which suggests that a significant number of women feel that their partner could do more.The final statement of this set is I do more care work at home because my partner has a higher paying job.Unsurprisingly given the fact of gender pay gaps and the gender inequality in labour markets d
93、iscussed above there are more women(59%)who agree with this than men(47%).82%86%62%71%39%47%51%59%13State of the Worlds Fathers Ireland 14The next set of questions relate to attitudes around gender roles in the home.These questions aimed to measure the extent to which participants agreed with norms
94、which underpin attitudes to gender and roles within the household.The first statement aimed at testing agreement with the patriarchal view that women who are wives or mothers must focus on these roles within the home above all else.38%of men and 32%of women agreed with the statement women who partic
95、ipate in politics or leadership positions cannot also be good wives.Unsurprisingly this statement elicited strong feelings from women with 31%of them disagreeing strongly with the statement whereas 19%of males strongly disagreed.The next statement aimed to test whether certain aspects of childcare w
96、ere seen as being specifically womens work and it concerned the role of women in carrying out specified childcare tasks.30%of men and 20%of women agreed with the statement that changing nappies,giving kids a bath and feeding kids are a mothers responsibility.The next statement aimed to examine gende
97、red attitudes to child socialisation,29%of men and 19%of women agreed with the statement that boys should not be taught to cook,clean or take care of their siblings.People who agree with this statement are expressing the view that boys should be raised in a particular way which does not include teac
98、hing them about the importance of participating in care and looking after others.Men were 10%more likely than women to agree with this statement which once again shows how men are behind their female counterparts when it comes to underlying ideas around care work and gender equality.The last questio
99、n in this set aimed to test adherence to the notion that the man is in charge in the home and by extension this question tests the desirability among respondents for an egalitarian marriage.28%of men and 12%of women agreed with the statement a man should have the final word on any decisions in the h
100、ousehold meaning that men were more than twice as likely to agree.60%of women and 30%of men strongly disagreed with this statement making it twice as likely that women would display strong feelings against it.While a large majority of respondents rejected the patriarchal views expressed by these sta
101、tements there is still a group of approximately a third of men polled who expressed agreement with them.On average for these 4 statements about 1 in every 5 women agreed with them.This shows again that while most men are aware of and reject patriarchal views on the role of women in the home there ar
102、e still more men on average than women who hold these views.Gendered Attitudes to CareMenWomenWomen who participate in politics or leadership positions cannot also be good wives38%32%MenWomenBoys should not be taught to sew,cook,clean or take care of their siblings29%19%MenWomenChanging nappies,givi
103、ng kids a bath and feeding kids are mothers responsibilities 30%20%MenWomenA man should have the final word on any decisions in the household28%12%State of the Worlds Fathers Ireland 15Care is difficult to measure and as such is not frequently enumerated in official statistics with the outcome being
104、 that it is typically undercounted and by extension undervalued.Caring and housework do not usually have public prominence because it is work which is predominantly carried out behind the scenes of public life in the private realm of the home.As care work is unpaid there are no requirements to count
105、 the hours completed and so it leaves no records of hours carried out or taxes paid.We asked a series of questions which related to time spent daily on specified tasks and the graph above displays averages of what was reported on each task according to gender.Methodologically speaking this survey is
106、 not a time use survey where participants are given a 24-hour period and fill in each activity carried out over the 24 hours along with the time spent doing it.Instead for this survey we rely on participants self-reporting the amount of time they spend on each task on a daily basis so there is a pos
107、sibility of participants over or underestimating the amount of time they spend on each task.At first glance it is clear that our participants seem to have a reported much more equitable split of duties in the home than is apparent in many studies of this type.Men report spending more time on average
108、 than women caring for both physical and emotional needs of elderly relatives and they reported spending more time looking after persons with disabilities.They also report spending more time than women doing the logistical work associated with planning family life.With regard to men reporting spendi
109、ng more time than women looking after elderly relatives and persons with disabilities this could be explained by the composition of the sample where more men than women polled had elderly relatives or people with disabilities that needed care.While we have noted above the tendency for men to perhaps
110、 overstate the amount of caring and housework that they do it is immediately noticeable that men report on average a similar number of hours doing many tasks as their female counterparts.Despite the similarities reported,once we drill down into the figures the cumulative effects of the differences b
111、ecome apparent.Women reported spending on average 12 minutes daily more than men on the physical care of their children and a further 12 minutes daily on the emotional care of their children.Women reported spending 30 minutes a day more than men cleaning the house and 24 minutes per day more than me
112、n taking care of the household food needs.Cumulatively this means that women spend 1 hour and 18 minutes more per day on care and housework than men do and this assuming constancy of effort across the 7 days of the week this would mean that women spend an extra 9.1 hours per week than men doing the
113、activities associated with the day to day running of the house.In comparison to men this equates to considerably more than an extra working day per week that women spend on the day to day tasks of running the household,assuming a 4 week month it equates to a day and a half extra per month that women
114、 spend on care of children,housework and feeding the household.Who cares?How much time is spent caring by taskFathersMothers3.23.4ChildPhysicalCare2.83.0ChildEmotionalCare3.83.6Person w/DisabilitiesOverall Care3.82.7EldersEmotionalCare3.42.2EldersPhysicalCare2.62.1HouseCleaning2.42.0HouseFood1.91.5H
115、ouseLogisticsIRELANDState of the Worlds Fathers Ireland Previous State of the Worlds Fathers research carried out in the Nordic countries found that despite difficulties in establishing direct lines of cause-and-effect,fathers taking longer paternity leave is associated with a number of benefits inc
116、luding better relationships with their partners,greater satisfaction with their role as a parent and even higher levels of life satisfaction.Using Korean data Kramer et al(2019)find that there is a positive association between fathers life satisfaction,job satisfaction and the taking of paternity le
117、ave.They further report a positive association between taking paternity leave and positive,beneficial outcomes for fathers,mothers,and society as a whole.In the US context Knoester et al(2019)describe a positive association between the length of paternity leave taken and the engagement and responsib
118、ility of fathers up to 1 year after the birth of their child.They similarly note that higher paternal involvement particularly among the cohort of non-resident fathers could be encouraged by an expansion of paternity leave.Other studies in both the European and US context describe how paternity leav
119、e can be influential in helping to reduce the likelihood of parental separation as it acts to alleviate parental conflict while increasing relationship satisfaction particularly for mothers(Newkirk et al 2017;Schober 2012).Ireland is a relative newcomer in terms of paid parental and paternity leave
120、as it was one of the last European countries to introduce it in September 2016.At present the leave entitles fathers who have paid the requisite number of PRSI contributions to 2 weeks at a rate of 262 per week to be taken in the first 6 months after the birth of the child.The Irish Government Econo
121、mic and Evaluation Service(IGEES)found that the average take home pay for private sector workers in 2020 was 642 which was 2 and a half times the value of paternity leave.While some organisations offer a top up payment for paternity and parental leave so recipients do not lose out on wages many dont
122、.Survey evidence from Irish Business and Employers Confederation(IBEC)claims that a mere 46%of companies offer salary top ups for paternity leave.While all public service employees receive top up payments for paternity leave there is variation in the private sector with small to medium sized enterpr
123、ises(SMEs)far less likely to offer the payments.Paternity Leave MenWomenCare leave for me would benefit my partner and my childrenMenWomenExtra care leave for me would be beneficial for my career/earningsMenWomenExtra paid care for me would be bene ficial for my partners career/earningsMenWomenIf I
124、could take paid care leave I wouldnt make use of it69%51%57%43%55%37%48%20%16State of the Worlds Fathers Ireland MenWomenIt would be beneficial for my partner and my children if my partner was able to take paid careMenWomenExtra care leave for my partner would be beneficial for my career/earningsMen
125、WomenExtra paid care for my partner would be beneficial for my partners career/earningsMenWomenIf my partner could take paid care leave they wouldnt make use of it63%of men would take paid leave if it were available to them 65%49%51%33%58%41%44%31%17As such there are notable inequalities in the take
126、 up of paternity leave which are very likely in many cases to coincide with the willingness or ability of the employer to pay the top up.Given the large disparity between average earnings and paternity leave payments it is perhaps unsurprising that take up of the benefit is low with a 2020 analysis
127、paper from IGEES stating that an estimated 1 in 2 eligible people in private sector employment availed of the scheme.Similarly Kppe describes socio-demographic inequalities that are associated with take up of paid paternity leave,in particular the occupational segregation of employer top-ups(2023,p.
128、2).Given these facts the IGEES paper concludes that the scheme does not address the existing disparity in leave entitlements or the low uptake in the rate of paternity leave.As such it is unlikely to support families in the more equal sharing of care responsibilities or address womens underrepresent
129、ation in the labour market(Newman&Ryan 2020,p.3).We asked participants a series of questions relating to the potential benefits of extra paid care leave for both them and for their partners and children.The first set of questions as displayed above relate to the benefits of the respondent getting ex
130、tra paid care leave.As is evident from the graphs men are more likely to see how them taking extra paid leave would benefit others with over two-thirds of men stating that it would benefit their partner and children.Approximately half of men surveyed thought that extra care leave for them would be b
131、eneficial for the earnings of their partners and their own earnings.Despite the acknowledged benefits of taking extra paid paternity leave 37%of men agreed with the statement that they would not make use of it were it to be available.This means that a mere 63%of men would take paid leave if it were
132、available to them.There is a notable gender disparity for this statement as women almost half as likely to agree with the statement that if they could get longer paid leave they would not use it.The second set of questions around care leave asked participants about the effects of extra paid care lea
133、ve for their partners.Once again paid care leave was seen by both men and women as being beneficial for their children with approximately 2 thirds of both men and women agreeing with this statement.There are close similarities between men and women regarding the belief that their partner would not t
134、ake longer paid care leave if it were available.State of the Worlds Fathers Ireland 18ConclusionMen are also taking a larger share of the responsibilities of caring and housework although there are still large gaps with women on average spending 9.1 hours per week more than men doing day to day hous
135、ehold activities of caring cooking and cleaning.In the interests of gender equality,it is impe-rative that housework and caring is spread equally between men and women.We contend that inequalities in other areas of life such as in the labour market,politics and the public sphere in general can be si
136、gnificantly ameliorated by a more equitable sharing of housework and care.This is meant in no way to blame men for not doing their share.Gender inequalities are rigid and stubborn,they are copper fastened and held in place by beliefs and attitudes around gender roles.We have seen how these beliefs a
137、re changing and how most men and women reject these aspects of patriarchal gender norms.As well as this it is evident that there is a need for increased flexibility of working arrangements for both men and women to facilitate an equitable sharing of housework and caring responsibilities.Structural c
138、hange is necessary if we are to close the gender gap on work and care done in the home.Such change includes the availability of care leave and the extension of paid parental leave.This report has shown that care for children is seen by both men and women as being one of the most important and valued
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146、come New Parents.Sex Roles 76(5)Schober,P.S.(2012)Parental Leave Policies and Child Care Time in Couples after Childbirth.SOEPpaper No.434Skeggs,B.(2014)Values Beyond Value,Is anything beyond the logic of capital?British Journal of Sociology Annual Public Lecture 2013Author:Kenny DoyleSuggested Cita
147、tionDoyle,K.(2023).State of the Worlds Fathers:Ireland reportDesign by Lands Image CreditsKelli McClintock p.2,Anna Shvets p.7,Chewy p.18,Nate Johnson p.19State of the Worlds Fathers IrelandThis study is part of a larger global survey which was carried out across 13 countries and aimed to examine at
148、ti-tudes around care,fatherhood,and the gendered division of household labour.It looked at attitudes to care as well as practical issues such as the availability and desirability of paternity leave and care leave.It also looked at how care interacts with work in the formal labour market and how structural factors are influential in the practices of delivering care.This report will look specifically at the data gathered which relates to childcare and fatherhood.