Men struggling to have it all — family, work
By Lauren Weber and Joann S. Lublin, Wall Street Journal
Can working fathers have it all? Some of them are giving it a shot.
A new generation of fathers with corporate jobs is joining the debate about balancing work and family, a conversation long driven by working women. As the number of dual-earner couples grows and more men make sacrifices to support their wives’ careers, some fathers are asking employers for guidance and action or tapping flexible-workplace policies originally designed for working mothers. Others are curbing their career goals to spend more time at home.
Employers have been slow to recognize men’s role as caregivers, fathers and researchers say. And, as a younger generation brings new expectations for fatherhood into the office, they will have to challenge an assumption their female colleagues have faced for years: It is impossible to be both an involved parent and a star performer.
The shift comes at a time when more women are out-earning their husbands—a percentage that has risen steadily from 3.5 percent of families in 1960 to 15 percent of families in 2011, according to the Pew Research Center—and men are redefining what it means to be a dad. A study by the Boston College Center for Work & Family found that a majority of fathers, especially those under 40, are moving away from the traditional “breadwinner” role and see themselves as responsible for both the emotional and financial needs of their children.
It’s time for women to step up to the plate and be the “breadwinners” for the next 100 years.
Heck – before you know it you might even see a woman flip the dinner bill and take care of it……….
No one can have it all and no one should try to do so, at least not all at once. It isn’t humanly possible to be all things to all people, so one has to choose, based on one’s priorities.
I’ve noticed increasing numbers of men choosing quality family time over corporate climbing, along with increasing numbers of women becoming the main breadwinners.
I think it’s great they feel they can make those choices. The Women’s Movement was (and is) about equality. That it has resulted in both genders feeling empowered to choose for themselves points to the success of the movement.