Speaking from both experience and observation, mums tend to be the CEO of their household.
And this is not just the case for families where mum stays at home. Oh no. Even in families where mama has a career of her own and goes out to work just as many hours a week as dads do, in the vast majority of families, mums also end up doing slightly more when it comes to the childcare, be it nappy changes, play date organizing or making sure everyone is up to speed with their immunizations and dental check-ups.
This, I think, is pretty much a universal state of affairs, but in some countries, sharing the responsibility that is childcare is even more uneven than in others, unfortunately.
Curious as to how Irish dads are doing when it comes to helping us mamas out? Well, I’m almost afraid to say this, but according to a new study by the Fatherhood Institute, Irish dads are literally among the worst in the developed world at sharing childcare responsibilities. Yikes.
British dads are only slightly better, with Japanese fathers being the absolute worst in helping out with childcare.
On average, Irish fathers spend less than 25 minutes caring for children, for every hour done so by women.
Oh, equality, we’ve got a long way to go…
The study compared 22 countries on a number of factors including childcare, gender pay gap and parental leave. The top-five countries were all Scandinavian, with Sweden coming out best overall, but when it came to comparing the amount of just childcare done by men and women specifically, it was Portugal who came in first place, with fathers spending 39 minutes for every hour done by women.
This is what the Fatherhood Institute chair, Will McDonald, had to say to Harper’s Bazaar about the state of affairs in the UK, which rings pretty true for Ireland as well:
“What our analysis shows is that, compared to other countries, the UK has failed to create the structures to support families to achieve the greater sharing they want, and that is so important for our children’s futures,” McDonald explained. “This needs to change, or we will continue to fall behind.”
What do YOU think about these results, mamas? Does this reflect life in YOUR household? Let us know in the comments or tweet us at @Herfamilydotie
