So, you care about gender equality? Then get men — and the workplace — involved in parenting
Worldwide, 75% of people disagree that “a man who stays at home to look after his children is less of man”, an encouragement to those who have fought for the equal sharing of rights and responsibilities between parents. Yet, the reality in the workplace remains at odds with this evolution in public opinion. Studies demonstrate that women who do not have children earn significantly more than women who do — by up to 61% in Germany!
On average, a female employee will earn one-third less than a male colleague by the time her child reaches the age of 6. On top of discrimination at hiring owing to the “risk” of falling pregnant and taking maternity leave, women will also earn less and climb company hierarchy slower when they resume work as they are assumed to be less committed than previously. Men are conversely perceived as being more invested upon becoming fathers. As the thinking goes, “the breadwinner is even more dedicated than before now that he has a family to support”. In the face of this blatant double standard, narrowing the parenting gap should become a priority for decision-makers in the public and corporate spheres.
An obvious solution to confronting maternity discrimination is to encourage fathers to take up their full share of child-rearing duties. This is where employers can play a critical role in shifting structures to enable greater equality. So far, many have been reluctant to implement the changes required to make the workforce more accommodating to parents. Currently, fathers are dishearteningly locked in gendered roles of working long hours, with the consequence that their main contribution to bringing up their children is the paycheck they bring home, whilst women are relegated to being second-class participants in the workforce. This is despite Ipsos’ survey demonstrating that three-quarters of respondents believe that employers should make it easier for men to combine childcare with work.
Policymakers must contribute to creating a flexible environment where men can freely parent. In the UK, just 10% of fathers extend the statutory 2 weeks of paternity leave they are entitled to. For this reason, as Minister for Women’s Rights, I successfully fought to lengthen shared parental leave by 6 months if the second parent opts to take theirs, thus directly tackling maternity discrimination. Moreover, research indicates that fathers who devote time to postnatal child-rearing are much likelier to remain in close touch with their children in cases of separation. Family breakdown is now ubiquitous, and the disparity is striking enough that fathers should be asking themselves: “on my deathbed, would I really want to have spent that much time with my colleagues, as opposed to with my offspring?”.
Two-fifths of Ipsos’ survey respondents are confident that maternity discrimination will have ended 20 years from now. Yet, roughly the same proportion are convinced it will have not. Whereas changes in law are clearly identifiable, with a before and an after, cultural attitudes are more deeply ingrained and transitions less clear-cut. Although our study highlights encouraging evolutions around perceptions of masculinity which have emboldened men to becoming increasingly involved in the domestic sphere, vocal pockets of resistance to change abound. Think of reactionary pundits like Piers Morgan, who recently tried to ridicule actor Daniel Craig for carrying his daughter in a papoose. Thankfully, scores of people came out in support of James Bond’s alter-ego. Paradoxically, the issue also accentuated a recurring bias: men who care for their children are revered as heroes, undermining the notion that they are simply doing what they should do. I here commend New Zealand’s first couple, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her partner Clarke Gayford, for normalizing the concept of the stay-at-home dad. On a side note, I also thought that pictures of PM Ardern striding down a Buckingham Palace hall in a Korowai was one of my favorite images of 2018. At last a female leader in a powerful cloak inverting traditional gender roles, that too whilst pregnant!
As the 44th International Women’s Day dawns, decision-makers need to implement policy changes that even out parenting tasks. Progress is slow and will come with short-term financial costs. However, in the long run, it will benefit male employees and companies alike. Overall well-being will increase, with parents enjoying healthier and more harmonious lives. This, in turn, will make them better employees. Just as crucial, society needs to collectively combat the prejudices which continue to erode women’s rights. This implies we muster the courage to examine our own individual conscious and subconscious biases before eliminating them.
Najat Vallaud-Belkacem is the CEO of Ipsos Global Affairs and former Minister of Education and Research in France.
