Equal sharing or not at all caring? Ideals about fathers’ family involvement and the prevalence of the second half of the gender revolution in 27 societies

Abstract

ABSTRACT Using attitude data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) of 2012, we study the prevalence of the second half of the gender revolution – the involvement of men/fathers in care and housework on equal terms with women/mothers. With a focus on the collective consciousness in 27 societies, we (1) map patterns of support for different family model ideals; (2) study the extent to which these ideals are related to national-level indicators of gender equality and modernization; (3) analyse similarities and differences between groups of societies, with a focus on which ideals represent conservative and progressive alternatives in each society; and (4) analyse group differences and the degree to which these ideals are contested within societies. We find that the ideal of a father as provider and a mother as caregiver persists but is challenged in nearly all societies by other alternatives, including: mothers’ part-time work; full-time work for both mothers and fathers; and a dual-earner/dual-carer ideal, with shared responsibilities for paid (part-time) and unpaid work. On the societal level, modernization and gender equality are positively associated with both progressive family ideals and marked group differences, indicating that fathers’ involvement in the family is a contested issue in progressive societies.