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Fathers on Leave Alone Research Project

Fathers on Leave Alone Research Project. Karin Wall ICS – University of Lisbon. Leave Network Annual Seminar Tallinn, 18-19 September 2014. Aims. 2 Main Aims:

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Fathers on Leave Alone Research Project

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  1. FathersonLeaveAloneResearch Project Karin Wall ICS – University ofLisbon Leave Network Annual Seminar Tallinn, 18-19 September 2014

  2. Aims 2 Main Aims: • To produce original research findings on fathers taking “Home Alone Leave”, implying daylong care for a baby while the mother works • To compare fathers’ experiences of leave alone in different policy contexts

  3. Research Questions • What are the understandings and experiences of fathers taking this more radical form of ‘leave alone’? • Can we identify the social processes which structure their experiences (e.g. bonding, caregiving, playing, learning, negotiation, doing/undoing gender…)? • Are these experiences different from those related to other forms of leave? • Is there diversity? Or one main trend towards involved fatherhood? • What consequences, for fathers and mothers and family life, can we detect? • To whatextentdoes leavealoneaffectthe more conventionalmodelsofmotherhoodandfatherhood ? • Can we identify the social factors underpinning diversity and impact?

  4. Research Questions • What is the impact of differing country policy contexts on fathers’ experiences? • Are fathers’ experiences in countries with longstanding leave policies for fathers (e.g. fathers’ quota) different from father’s experiences in countries which introduced generous leave entitlements for fathers more recently (e.g. Canada, Portugal)? • How do these experiences compare with those of fathers taking leave in policy contexts with weaker state-supported solutions for fathers (e.g. gender sharing of maternity leave) or taking leave as a private family-based solution?

  5. What triggered the study? • Recent Surprises related to policy developments: increase in number of couples sharing parental leave. Example: Portugal - upfrom 0.6% of couples sharing leave in 2009 to 21% in 2011. Exploratory interviews revealing diverse understandings. • Research in Nordic countries mostly focusing on first generation of fathers taking parental leave and revealing influence of hegemonic masculinities (“masculine care”) • Stereotypes and negative discourses on what fathers do/do not do when on leave • Need for more evidence on what fathers DO and EXPERIENCE (in particular during leave alone). • And in different national policy contexts . • SLOVENIA 2012: small group of network members decided to explore possibilities of common project • PARIS 2013: leave network members invited to meeting if interested. Group broadened out to include 11 countries.

  6. Approach and research design • 11 countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Canada, Japan • Qualitativeinteractionistapproach: prioritizingtheagencyand subjective perspectives offathers • Theoretical background drawingon 3 major strands: social policy (comparativeleavepolicydevelopments); familyandparenting/fatheringstudies; genderstudies (gendereddivisionsofcare, doing/undoinggender) • Research design: In-depthinterviews to capture thelivedexperiencesoffathers who tookatleastonemonthaloneof parental leave. Dual earnercoupleswherefathershadtakenleaveoverthelast 3 years. Purposivesamplingprocedureto ensurevariationand sample size 10-20 interviews. • Commoninterviewguide (adapted to each country policycontext). 8 core topics: - descriptionofleavetakenafterbirthofchild; - whyandhowthisdecisionwastaken; - reactions (workplace, friends, family); - descriptionoftheexperienceofbeingaloneandactivities (firstdays, weeks); - theconsequencesofleaveonfathers’ life (career, family, opinions); - goingback to workandorganizingwork-life balance; - whatitmeans to be a fatherand a man; - opinionsonthecurrentleavepolicy

  7. Work plan and outputs • Fieldwork 2013-2014 • Workshop in LisbonMay 2014 (fundedby Portuguese Commission for Equality in Work/EEA Grants): presentationanddiscussionoffirstfindings • Book to bepublished in 2015 by Springer (Lifecourse Series) Proposedtitle: Comparativeperspectives onwork-life balance andgenderequality: FathersonLeaveAlone • Editors: Margaret O’Brien and Karin Wall • Authors: Andrea Doucet, Ann-Zofie Duvander, BeritBrandth, DanièleBoyer, Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay, ElinKvande, Geraldo Meil, HidekiNakazato, Isabel Valarino, IngolfurGislason, JesúsRogero-Garcia, Johanna Lammi-Taskula, Katherine Twamley, Karin Wall, Laura Bernardi, Linda Haas, Mafalda Leitão, Margaret O’Brien, NadiaDodeler, Pedro Romero, Sara Thalberg

  8. What fathers are telling us… in Norway “Sure, you think you’ll have oceans of time with a pleasant … and almost boredom. And that's where you go wrong. The funny thing is that I was told by I don’t know how many friends who'd done that, that "Don't plan. Don't think you'll be able to do redecorating and ridiculous ideas like that, you won't be able to do squat, Steinar. You can't plan loads of projects. Just … buy a book, you'll have time for that when she’s sleeping". “Yes, like suddenly it was … she wasn't interested in her mother when she came home from work, and her mother was almost in tears. So then it was like … it's so nice."

  9. What fathers are telling us… in Sweden “Where I live all dads take parental leave, and at my workplace all dads take leave, it would have been considered strange if I did not take leave” “We both knew that we wanted to split the leave. So there was not much to discuss really.” “I lovedTindrafromthemoment I sawher, I would do anything for her, but I did not like being a parent. Do you understand? I got a life I did not like. I could not sleep, I could not do anything and I felt trapped…well, I suppose many feel like that in the beginning.” “Now when something goes wrong I understand why and what happened and how to handle it”

  10. What fathers are telling us… in the UK “I even lost one of my friends during my time on APL. He thought I was leeching on benefits. I told him I’m just taking the remainders of my wife’s Maternity Pay. But he’s very conventional and thinks a woman should take care of the kids rather than men. I told him I think he’s a traditionalist, he got offended and didn’t want to be my friend anymore. I don’t know. Feels silly that someone cannot be friends with you because you want to spend time with your son” “Well just because I know, like, I can just read him really well. Like I knew he was doing a pooh earlier on, I saw half an hour ago he was getting quite tired and it’s just you know what he’s up to and what he’s thinking, or how he’s feeling. And also the way he responds to me when . I like, come home from work, he’s generally quite happy. So we have this like – I don’t know, quite a strong bond, which I don’t think would have happened in quite the same way if I hadn’t have been off with him. Just you know, trying to keep him from being grumpy before bed time, things like that”

  11. What fathers are telling us… in Canada « Fromthe time I wasaloneitwas as if I felt I couldgive direction or meaning, a little more personalthistime, to education and the relationshipwithmychild. Whenyou arrive in second, you are gettingyourselfinto the pattern that has been partiallyimplemented by yourspouse. It'slikeshedidher routine, thatyou are gettingyourselfintoherroutine, thenyou'rehere and youparticipate in the routine, thenwhenyou arrive alone, oh there are tricks you do less, youneed not go out at the same time, you'll not be in the samepark, you do not do the sameactivities. » (Father 35 years: 2 girls and 1 year 3 years 5 weeks of paternityleave and one week off, and six months of parental leave for bothchildren. )

  12. What fathers are telling us… in Portugal “I have a clear ideathat I remindedmyself to say ‘right, it’s time to feed, orgivehimthebottle, it’s time to go to sleep…’ (…) I mayevenhavedonethesamethingsbefore - [withhisotherchildren] - , in factI’msure I did, butitwasalwayswithmywife to guide me. Thislast time I washomealone, so I acted more responsibly” (…) but I alsomanaged to getoverthatinitialpanic (..) sotherewas… lesspanic, myreactionswerebetterorganizedandrational, let’ssay, andpracticalmaybe, yes, more practical.” “There’s no-one else there, and that creates a stronger bond … I don’t know, when people say there’s a stronger tie between mother and baby, I think that tie between mother and baby is transferred to the father, in this way at least that’s what I felt”. “I always used to do a lot, but when I stayed at home by myself, that’s when I understood the important little things that happen in day-to-day life, and I think that helps me to appreciate the other side as well (…) because I had to do those things I think we got to know each other better, and I think it actually helped our relationship quite a bit”.

  13. THANK YOU  Karin.wall@ics.ulisboa.pt

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