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Original Articles

Where are the new fathers? German families with a non-traditional distribution of professional and family work

Pages 371-376 | Published online: 01 Jul 2010
 

Abstract

The concepts 'new fathers' and 'new men' reflect changed attitudes about gender roles today. However, at a behavioural level, the traditional division of labour in families has proved tenacious. Wage differences between the sexes are believed to be a main reason for this. This German pilot project examined the division of labour of couples, to pursue the question of what consequences a couple's relative earnings have for a cooperative role structure as well as for the transition to parenthood. Qualitative interviews were conducted with both partners in 25 couples in which the woman's earnings were as high as or higher than those of the man. The results show clear deviations from the 'standard model', thereby indicating the significant influence of earnings. Most couples divided parental leave so that neither partner had to drop out of employment for a long period of time. The egalitarian role distribution had a positive effect on the relationship between parents and on satisfaction with this relationship. RESUMEN Los conceptos de 'padre moderno' y 'hombre nuevo' reflejan actitudes cambiadas sobre papeles de los sexos hoy en día. No obstante, al nivel de comportamiento, la división tradicional de trabajo ha sido tenaz. Se cree que esto surge principalmente de diferencias de sueldos entre los sexos. Éste proyecto piloto alemán evaluó la división de trabajo entre parejas para averiguar las consecuencias de los ingresos relativos de una pareja en la estructura cooperativa de papeles de sexo, además de el la transición a ser padres. Se llevaron a cabo entrevistas cualitativas con ambos compañeros de 25 parejas donde los ingresos de las mujeres eran iguales o superior a los del hombre. Los resultados muestran desviaciones claras del 'modelo estándar' señalando la considerable influencia de los ingresos. La mayoría de parejas compartían la baja por paternidad/maternidad para que ninguna persona tuviera que abandonar su empleo durante mucho tiempo. La distribución igualitaria de papeles afectó positivamente a la relación entre los padres y a su satisfacción con la relación.

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