Chapter 1 Introduction
This chapter will outline the structure of the book and its importance with regard to increasing equality and reducing the gender pay gap. In particular, the changing role of fathers and societal expectations for increased paternal involvement within a context of minimal actual change will be introduced.
This chapter will outline the methods utilised in the research.
Chapter 2 Caregiving Fathers and the Fatherhood Forfeit
This chapter introduces the notion of the fatherhood forfeit and sets the context. Context setting will involve exploring key literature and recent reports and data from ONS, Working Families and the House of Commons Select Committee on “Fathers at Work”. It will explain the historical, legislative and political landscape for caregiving fathers in the UK, and the way in which these have impacted on both labour market participation and the division of parental responsibilities. It will then present survey data obtained through a vignette study which is suggestive that fathers are less likely to obtain part time work to enable an active involvement in the caregiving of their children than mothers.
Chapter 3 Think Child- Think Mum
This chapter will begin by exploring the current literature, offering explanations why mothers are often considered as the primary parent. This will include discussion of gendered stereotypes, their influence on norms of behaviour and implications. It will also explore the existence of behavioural expectations within the workplace for parents, emphasising the differing expectations of mothers and fathers.
Next, it will present the data obtained through semi-structured interviews utilising illustrative quotes (possibly case studies?). It will demonstrate how many parents and managers in this research felt that there was an automatic assumption that the mother is always the primary parent, regardless of the working hours of the parents and that any deviation from this is considered as unconventional. Throughout the chapter the data will be linked to the existing academic terrain, outlining the ways in which this work both corresponds with and contradicts existing work.
Chapter 4 Support Available- Subject to Negotiation
This chapter will begin by charting the current literature which explores the challenges faced by fathers in the workplace when they attempt to obtain organisational support for caregiving. Referring to both key literature and recent reports, it will discuss workplace outcomes when fathers challenge the purported social norms by seeking more flexible working patterns to enable an active role in the caregiving of their children.
As with the previous chapter, the data obtained in this research will then be presented through use of illustrative quotes (possibly case studies?) to demonstrate that fathers often obtain less support for caregiving in the workplace than mothers and that any workplace support for caregiving is often conditional and context specific. The data will be consistently linked back to existing academic work, highlighting areas of contradiction and confirmation.
Chapter 5 Social Mistreatment of Caregiving Fathers
This chapter presents existing knowledge regarding social and workplace outcomes when fathers challenge the purported social norms by taking an active role in the caregiving of their children and adopting more flexible working patterns, with specific focus on the nature and impact of sanctions for caregiving fathers. The chapter will then move to present the data obtained in this study through illustrative quotes (possibly case studies?) to demonstrate the social mistreatment faced by caregiving fathers. It will focus in detail on the most widely recurring themes of negative judgement, suspicion, mockery, exclusion and being viewed as idle. As with previous chapters, the data will be linked to existing academic terrain in this area, outlining the ways in which this work both corresponds with and contradicts existing work.
Chapter 6 Caregiving Fathers During Covid-19
This chapter will bring the research up to date and introduce survey data obtained from research completed during the lockdown period of March-June 2020 in the UK. It will highlight the challenges and opportunities that emerged from the pandemic period and how this links to notions of fatherhood forfeits (permission from the co-authors of the Parents in the Pandemic research-Dr Laura Radcliffe and Jo Gregory-Chialton to be sought).
Chapter 7 What next for Caregiving Fathers?
The final chapter will comprise a practical outline of key learnings from my research and existing research on ways that organisations and caregiving fathers themselves can avoid the fatherhood forfeit and improve working life for parents. It will also explore areas for further work and international comparisons.
