How Many Of These Mistakes Is Your Business Making?
❓ Just focusing on maternity leave, not parental leave?
❓ Assuming that dads don't have or want caring reponsibilities?
❓ Trying to solve gender equality by focusing on initiatives for women?
❓ Making flexible working look like a ‘perk’ for mums or senior leaders?
❓ Not understanding that gender equality and opportunity at work starts at home?
❓ Unaware that a new generation of men want it all - to be a great dad without sacrificing a great career?
❓ Concentrating on extended leave without considering culture change?
❓ Leaving line managers to muddle along, trying to support new parents as best they can?
❓ Not offering the emotional support new dads need to process the upheaval of parental transition?
There Is A Growing Awareness…
That building a diverse and inclusive workplace is not a challenge that can be easily solved by only creating initiatives aimed solely at women. Initiatives to support women in the workplace remain of crucial importance, but an additional focus on men has the benefit of re-framing the conversation away from the prevailing binary gender stereotypes of carer and “all in” breadwinner.
The truth is that, although they may struggle to admit it, (even to themselves), men are as likely as women to struggle with the pressures of balancing work and life, pulled in different directions between their providing and caring roles. With the right policies and support it is possible to reduce the financial and culture barriers that make men reluctant to appear anything other than "all in" for work. The reality is that men are worried that their careers will suffer and by association their families.
When working dads are confident that they can be a great dad without sacrificing a great career, we can normalise flexible working and parental leave for all which is good for well-being, gender diversity and closing the gender pay gap.
Focusing on new dads at work
✅ Improves mental health and well-being for all new parents.
✅ Supports retention of high performing individuals facing the parental transition.
✅ Creates diverse working cultures where dads have a genuine choice about how to organise their working life.
✅ Narrows the gender pay gap by creating new role models for what successful masculinity looks like at work.
✅ Retains female staff by changing the assumptions about gender in the workplace. Enhance gender equality at work and at home.
It can be tough to be a new dad in the modern world.
Pulled between traditional roles and values that place a premium on the ability and (frequently) the necessity, of being a breadwinner and with an increasing desire to be an active and involved father - the dad they “don’t remember growing up.”
We believe that a new generation of dads are ready to embrace a new type of working life, one that blends work and family in a way rarely previously experienced by men, no longer constrained by traditional and divisive gender stereotypes around “breadwinning” and “caring.”
According to the NCT, the number of men who become depressed in the first year after becoming a dad is double that of the general population, with first time dads being particularly vulnerable. One in ten dads-to-be will also become depressed during their partner’s pregnancy.
Time spent looking after their children is good for dads’ well-being and mental health, unlocks workplace opportunities for their partners, improves equality at home and redefines, for everyone, what “being committed” looks like in the workplace.
This generation of dads understands that you shouldn’t have to choose between “being a great dad and having a great career”, and with the right support they will drive improved choice for everyone, better mental health outcomes and gender equality at home and at work.
Typically, business spend in support of parents is focused on enhanced maternity leave, return to work coaching for mums, women's leadership development and recruitment to replace the estimated 54,000 pregnant women a year who lose their jobs in the UK (see Pregnant Then Screwed)
This business spend isn’t working because…
At the heart of the problem is that success at work often looks like a ‘traditional’ masculine stereotype of long hours and zero caring responsibilities. We assume women aren’t suitable for important roles because we assume that if they become mums they will want flexible or part time work and extended leave. These assumptions hurt parents and non parents alike, men and women. It limits choice and opportunity for everyone.
“When we first met, I didn’t think Lisa had children, because I didn’t think a mum could do this job.”
These trends in modern fatherhood can be hard to spot - although dads want to be much more involved, they also fear being seen as ‘uncommitted’ and not being able to provide for their families. This leads to men struggling with wellbeing issues and relationship challenges, while women are unable to fulfil their potential in the workplace, hampered by second shift and mental load considerations at home and gendered assumptions about roles at work.
This is where Inspiring Dads comes in
Improving AWARENESS of new dad well-being issues.
1-2-1 SUPPORT for managers and new dads.
Creating COMMUNITY and male allyship.
Going into DEPTH on key fatherhood topics.
Develop strategies to BUILD BETTER gender equality.
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“10 Reasons Why Supporting New Dads At Work REALLY Matters.”
Bite sized evidence and research to support building your business case and putting support for new dads at the heart of your gender equality strategy.
