“Supporting Dads To Make Brave Decisions…”
Championing New Dads At Work (Edition 3)
This weekly newsletter saves you time and effort by providing you with a range of resources, inspiration and topics related to fatherhood and equality.
Each week I will share content around the Inspiring Dads' 5 Pillars of "Championing New Dads at Work"
These 5 pillars go to the heart of how I help HR leaders support their new dads, enhancing gender equality at home and at work, improving well-being, performance and culture.
The hidden barriers keeping men at work
“Most cite fears of being discriminated against professionally, missing out on pay rises and promotions, being marginalised or even mocked as reasons for not taking time off.”
BBC REPORT - Paternity leave: The hidden barriers keeping men at work
If you want to understand more about why supporting new dads is the route to gender equality, then you'll need to join me live and for free next Tuesday, 28th June.
"Why do we need to coach dads?”
It's a pretty common question when budgets are tight, maternity leave provision is much more generous and retaining female talent is a pressing issue.
Let these women's words educate you on the pressures faced by dads and positive impacts that coaching can drive...
What pressures did your partner face before starting the coaching?
"Work life balance and a lack of sleep"
"Work life balance, financial implications and being the ‘perfect’ dad"
"A very demanding job and commute, feeling guilty about not seeing enough of me and our son, not feeling as though he was supportive enough of us."
What positive changes have you seen IN HIM as a result of the coaching?
"More conversations about shared responsibility"
"Better mental space, accepting that there is no such thing as a perfect dad, accepting that I would know the kids a little better and how to look after them."
"More open to discussing the difficult topics, more of a team player, more self-awareness."
How have these positive changes improved YOUR life?
"Greater appreciation of what's needed to make us happy as a family of four."
"A lot calmer with the twins, better work life balance, realising that he can do it all."
"We have much more open communication about managing family life and our priorities. I feel like we are sharing the load a lot more which has been a huge relief for me, and I feel much more optimistic about our future as a family"
Join the free webinar next week and learn why we can't just assume that dads are ok, and why supporting new dads at work is the route to gender equality.
Live and for free next Tuesday, 28th June.
The New Dads Accelerator
Our 5 week group course creates safe supportive spaces for "first year fathers", blending online course content with group video calls to learn, reflect and share.
This is what our graduates say:
"A clearer plan of how to pave the way forward."
"I am more resilient and reflective."
"Taking time for myself after a day at work"
"More clarity on holistic management of life with a new child. More oversight of personal and long term goals"
"I would strongly encourage new dads to access The New Dads Accelerator. It provides a focused and fresh approach to the dynamics of fatherhood. I feel lucky to have accessed this course after birth of our second child. My only wish is that I'd accessed the course after the birth of our first."
Patrick, GP Partner in London
Big Careers, Small Children.
Episode 86 of the Leaders Plus Podcast "Big Careers, Small Children" is out now and I join host, Verena Hefti, as we discuss:
"Supporting Dads to Make Brave Decisions, Removing Barriers Around Shared Parental Leave & Why Gender Equality at Home Influences Work "
In this episode we cover
How dads can be brave and go beyond social expectations.
How to deal with the inevitable judgement from yourself and your peers when you challenge expectations.
Gender equality at home and work and how they influence each other.
What organisations can do support dads to take shared parental leave and how to remove barriers.
What men really talk about and why most men are more supportive of change than you might think.
Why when you connect men together to share stories and experiences it’s incredibly powerful.
The one thing every dad can do to move closer to the work/home setup they’d really like.
The huge pressure faced by dads who are the main breadwinner but who also want to be present parents.
Click here to listen:
https://www.leadersplus.org.uk/big-careers-small-children-ian-dinwiddy-inspiring-dads/
"Equal Parental Leave Rights, Enshrined In Law, For All."
It's my vision... writ large here: https://www.inspiringdads.co.uk/why
As Joeli Brearley, Founder at Pregnant Then Screwed wrote over the weekend
"Paternity leave in the UK is an embarrassment. 10 measly days for £318. It’s as if people think caring for children is a woman’s job.. ehem.
Today, we are releasing the findings from our survey which show that 1 in 4 dads & non-primary carers don’t even use their full entitlement due to pressure from work & financial issues, and even if they do, a quarter continue working whilst on leave due to pressure from their employer.
Meanwhile, 80% say they don’t have enough time to bond with their baby. They don’t have enough time to get to know their own child. That’s devastating, isn’t it? And as a result, almost half say they experienced a new mental health issue."
Joeli was in parliament yesterday making the case to the House of Lords for dads to get 6 weeks paternity leave paid at 90% of salary as part of the Pregnant Then Screwed campaign - Let’s Talk About Six.
Want to build better?
Join over 100,000 others and sign the Pregnant Then Screwed petition here
"Make parental leave equal for mothers and fathers."
I hope you enjoyed this week's content, feel free to share with your friends and colleagues! and If you have content, an event or an article you think my audience would want to learn about, then do let me know here.
MORE INSPIRATION
Building new foundations and thought processes are crucial to driving gender equality at work and at home.