Working Dads: Towards Equal Care Report

The Working Dads: Towards Equal Care report shares the experiences of working dads in Melbourne’s west. The report discusses the importance of workplaces supporting men as caregivers and offers 18 actions for workplaces to address gendered issues in workplace cultures.

Gender equality hinges on men taking on their share of the caregiving and workplaces play an important role in facilitating this.

This report, along with existing evidence, shows that men want to participate more in caregiving but are experiencing significant workplace barriers. Even when workplace policies are in place that provide fathers access to flexibility for caregiving and parental leave, workplace culture plays a significant role in creating a gap between policy and practice and impacting fathers’ ability to undertake equitable caring responsibilities.

These workplace cultural barriers are closely tied to traditional rigid gender stereotypes that systemically drive violence against women. The traditional ideal worker norm, that is closely linked to these rigid gendered norms, is playing out in workplace cultures and structures, and impacting men’s access to caregiving. This ultimately impacts women’s equality, economic security, and safety. Workplaces need to address these workplace barriers to enable parents to balance their work and caring responsibilities more equitably.

All workplaces can play a significant role in this work by supporting the implementation of the key recommendations.

Why equal care?

Dads want to take on a more equal share of the care but face workplace culture barriers. If dads took on a more equal share of caregiving it would:

• Break down rigid gender stereotypes that drive violence against women.
• Lead to better mental health outcomes for families.
• Enable women to have more access to paid work and financial security.
• Reduce the Gender Pay Gap.
• Result in more gender equal workplaces.

Key report findings

• Almost half of the dads surveyed faced barriers to accessing parental leave, mainly due to workplace culture.
• 7 in 10 dads said their workplaces had flexible work policies, but many still faced workplace culture barriers that stopped them from using them.

How work places can play a role

The report discusses the importance of men sharing caregiving responsibilities to achieve gender equality, with workplaces playing an important role.

Workplaces can:

• Support flexible work for dads: dads who feel encouraged to use flexible work arrangements can better balance their professional and caregiving roles. Leading to better mental health outcomes for families.
• Break down gender stereotypes: when you advocate for dads to take parental leave and share caregiving duties, it breaks down rigid gender norms (gender stereotypes) in workplaces and at home.
• Create a supportive workplace culture: A workplace environment that empowers fathers to take necessary parental/carers leave without fear of negative consequences, ensures respect for all caregivers.

Recommendations for workplaces

‘Working Dads: Towards Equal Care’ offers 18 actions for workplaces to address gendered issues in workplace cultures and bridge the gap between policy and practice.

Key recommendations include:

• Reviewing and implementing flexible work policies: ensuring equal opportunities for all parents to take time off for caregiving.
• Encouraging dads to take parental leave: providing training for line managers and regular information sessions about workplace entitlements.
• Promoting supportive workplace cultures: recognising and respecting both parents as caregivers.