Men at Work: what they want any why it matters for women

More than 150 people attended the launch in Melbourne last night of Men at Work: what they want any why it matters for women, The 100% Project’s latest research report.

Many of our Champions were in the audience to hear Sue Conde, Catherine Fox, Bob Wood and Richard Umbers talk about the research in a panel discussion led by Dr Barbara West, a 100% Project Board member.

Australia Post generously sponsored the event and, thanks to PwC, who videoed the discussion, you will soon be able to see excerpts on our website. Master Photographer David Israel’s pictures from the event will also be posted soon.

In the meantime you can read a two page summary of the event or the full research report on our website 

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Fathering in Australia among couple families with young children

There has been growing recognition of the importance of fathers to families in recent years. Societal trends, such as rising levels of employment among mothers of young children and recognition of the importance of the father–child relationship, have given more prominence to the contribution that fathers make to family life. Governments are increasingly interested in creating conditions that can foster fathers’ involvement in families; for example, through promoting more flexible working arrangements or by ensuring that children maintain contact with fathers following family breakdown. This growing interest in the role of fathers has been mirrored in the scientific community. However, there has been a limited amount of research on fathers in Australia, with the result that there remains much to be learnt about the ways that Australian fathers contribute to families and how they feel about themselves as fathers.

This report aims to increase understanding of the many ways in which fathers in couple families with young children contribute to family life, through the study of their time investment with children, their supportiveness as partners, their financial contribution, their parenting behaviours and styles, and their perceptions of their own adequacy as fathers. The impact of fathers on children’s wellbeing is also examined.

Our dads better than yours: Aussies lead world in parenting

Australian fathers have a poor reputation for sharing the housework and childcare. But it's all relative, isn't it? Compared to fathers in Italy or France, Australian dads are domestic paragons, a new study shows. Even compared to fathers in Denmark, where the government supports their involvement in childcare, Australian dads hold their own. "They do less than Australian women but they compare favourably to men in some other countries," says Lyn Craig, a senior research fellow at the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of NSW.

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Latest ABS time-use survey results released

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released its latest survey on how Australians use their time. The survey reveals that Australian men and women spend almost exactly the same amount of time on total work per day, showing what an egalitarian society we live in.

Yet the spin from the media was all about how women still do more housework than men, and are socially disadvantaged as a result. Typical was an article by Dewi Cooke from the Melbourne Age newspaper. We have analysed this article here to reveal the hidden gender bias of the author. 

So next time you see an article in the paper about how "lazy" Australian men should do more housework, remember that they do the same amount of total work as women. Of course, it would be more equitable if men did more housework, but to really be fair, women would also have to do more paid work of the dirty, dangerous, deadly and health diminishing kind which is typical done by men.

Click here to access the source data from the ABS website. 

Striking the balance

A discussion paper issued by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner that, unfortunately, propogates many of the old stereotypes and assumptions about the nature of work / family balance and gender. To read the final report, click here . For a reasoned rebuttal of many of the biases contained in the discussion paper, click here (PDF).