Developing Policy Support for Care-sharing: And its Limitations

Abstract

Providing a substantive examination of the context in which unusually care-centred fathers operate, this chapter focuses on developments in family policy that relate to fatherly caregiving. It first considers the enduring relevance of national policies in a world where supranational bodies and various globalising pressures increasingly exert influence. It then moves on to consider the key lessons can be learnt from legislation that has been introduced in countries other than the UK with the aim of facilitating greater involvement by fathers in the lives of their children. The chapter then provides a detailed analysis of UK family policy, with a specific focus on how it has addressed fathers, over the last fifty years. The authors maintain that while we have seen considerable policy activity in this area, and a significant shift away from the strongly maternalist orientation of policy evident in the late 20th century, UK policy remains some distance away from promoting a universal caregiver model. Finally, the chapter suggests that policy is not always translated into behaviour on-the-ground in a straightforward manner – and considers various ways in which government initiatives can be mediated by policies, practices and cultures in the workplace, and also by wider societal- and individual-level norms.