Fathers, work and families in twenty- first century Britain: beyond the breadwinner model? The findings in this presentation are preliminary – please do not reference without authors’ permission Margaret O’Brien & Svetlana Speight Matt Aldrich, Sara Connolly, Eloise Poole 23 April 2013, UCL
Outline • Policy & research context • Aims of project and data sources • Profiling of UK fathers’ working patterns Time trends in employment status and hours 2001-2011; continuity and change across different family types • Profiling UK Fathers : fatherhood status and definitions. Dealing with Complexity: bio, social, non-resident
Policy & Research Context “ In a rapidly changing world, we will continue witnessing the growing momentum and recognition of the importance of men for gender equality, reconciling work-family life and impacting the future of their children” Men in Families and Family Policy in a Changing World Report 2011 New York: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/ family/docs/men-in-families.pdf
Research: 1970s, 1980s, 1990s
Fathers: partners, carers, involved, nurturers
Anxieties about absent fathers
Inter-disciplinary conceptual framework for understanding change and continuity in men’s family and work roles • Awareness that the family unit is undergoing a transition from a traditional unitary model based on a male dominant economic actor towards a different logic with less specialization of roles by gender (Becker, 1981; Browning et al , 2011). • New norms redefining family life are emerging – “ a gender- equality equilibrium” – but are unstable (Esping-Anderson, 2009). • A multidimensional approach to men’s parenting activities or “father involvement” with direct and indirect influences of paternal capital on child and family wellbeing (Pleck, 2010) • Awareness that public policy measures, such as parental leave and flexible working schedules, have a profound effect on how much time children get to spend with their parents (Gornick & Meyers, 2009; Lewis, 2009).
Aims of the study 1. To provide a comprehensive profiling of fathers in 21 st century Britain in terms of their paid work and family life. 2. To explore factors associated with differences in fathers’ paid work and family life. 3. To analyse time trends in fathers’ working patterns to explore effects of policy changes. 4. To explore the role of institutional factors , by comparing the UK with other European countries.
Data 1. Understanding society , wave 1 (2009-10) and wave 2 (2010-11). 2. EU Labour Force Survey (late 1990s-current) 3. European Social Survey , round 2 (2004-05) and round 5 (2010-11) 4. British Household Panel Survey , all 18 waves (1991-2009)
Fathers’ working patterns
EU- LFS 2001-2011 • Adult couple households with dependent children (2011 20,569 couple households of which 6,092 have at least one child under the age of 15 living in the household) • Age restriction on the household reference person – 16-64 years • Employment status FT = 30 hours or more per week PT = <30 hours per week • Definitions of working hours "usual" weekly hours
Working patterns of couple households with dependent children 2001-2011 (HRP 16-64) workers 2 FTE MFT and FFT MFT and FPT workers 1.5 FTE FFT and MPT Male sole FT earner 1 FTE worker Female sole FT earner Dual PT Female sole PT 0.5 worker earner Male sole PT earner Neither working Other Other 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 % of households 2011 2001
Working hours of men in households with children (age 16-64) 48 47 Average usual hours in main job 46 45 44 43 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 MFT and FFT MFT and FPT Male sole FT earner All FT All
Working hours of men in households with children PT (age 16-64) 22 21 20 Average usual hours in main job 19 18 17 16 15 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011
Working hours of men in households with children by family type PT (age 16-64) 22 21 20 Average usual hours in main job 19 18 17 16 15 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 FFT and MPT Dual PT Male sole PT earner All PT
Working hours of women in households with children FT (age 16-64) 42 41 Average usual hours in main job 40 39 38 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011
Working hours of women in households with children FT by family type (age 16-64) 42 41 Average usual hours in main job 40 39 38 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 MFT and FFT FFT and MPT Female sole FT earner All FT
Incidence of long working hours 60+ of parents (age 16-64) 20 18 16 % working 60 or more hours per week 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 Father dual earner hh Father 1.5 earner hh Male sole earner hh All full-time fathers Mother dual earner hh Mother 1.5 earner hh Female sole earner hh All full-time mothers
Fatherhood: concepts
Fatherhood • Fathers v ‘non - fathers’ – Typology • Biological v social father • Resident v non-resident father
Fatherhood status 1. Fathers co-resident with dependent children: in couples 2. Fathers co-resident with dependent children: single parents 3. Fathers not living with any dependent children 4. Non-fathers
Fatherhood status, 2009/10 Father, dependent children, 25 couple Father, dependent children, lone 1 Father, no dependent children 38 Non-father 36 0 10 20 30 40 Base: men aged 16+ (n=20,741, Understanding Society survey)
Age profile Father, dependent 2 22 43 31 2 children, couple Father, dependent 0 11 42 40 7 children, lone Father, no dependent 1 3 6 32 58 children Non-father 41 27 12 12 8 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 16-24 25-34 35-44 45-59 60+
Non-fathers, by age 16 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 59 60+ 0 20 40 60 80 100
Economic status Working full-time dependent children, Father, couple Working part-time Unemployed Economically inactive children, lone Working full-time dependent Father, Working part-time Unemployed Economically inactive Working full-time dependent Father, no children Working part-time Unemployed Economically inactive Working full-time Non-father Working part-time Unemployed Economically inactive 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 % within each category of fatherhood (men aged 16-64)
Biological v social father
Fathers co-resident with dependent children Biological 94 1 Adopted Foster 0.4 11 Step 0 20 40 60 80 100 Base: fathers co-resident with dependent children (n=5,556)
Bio v non-bio Couple fathers 87 7 6 Lone fathers 96 2 2 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Bio only Bio and non-bio Non-bio only
Resident v non-resident father
Whether has a non-resident child <16 All men 16+ Father, dependent children, couple Father, dependent children, lone Father, no dependent children Non-father 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Base: all men aged 16+ (n=20,663)
Non-resident fathers More likely to be: • <45 years old (compared with 45+) • Living without a partner (OR: 28!) • Less well educated • Not in paid work • NS-SEC group - routine occupations • In rented accommodation
Whether non-resident fathers are co-resident with any dependent children Has resident children and is in a couple 27% Has resident children - lone father 46% No resident children and is 2% in a couple No resident children and is single 24% Base: fathers who have non-resident children under 16 (n=1,053)
Contact with non-resident children Non-resident child/ren only Resident and non-resident children 25 22 21 19 17 17 14 11 11 10 10 8 5 4 3 2 No Few times A few Several Once a Several Almost 50/50 contact a year times a times a week times a every day year month week Base: fathers who have non-resident children under 16 (n=1,050)
Thank you Prof. Margaret O’Brien (UEA) – M.O-brien@uea.ac.uk Dr Svetlana Speight (NatCen Social Research) – Svetlana.Speight@natcen.ac.uk Dr Sara Connolly (UEA) – Sara.Connolly@uea.ac.uk Dr Matt Aldrich (UEA) – Matthew.Aldrich@uea.ac.uk Eloise Poole (NatCen) – Eloise.Poole@natcen.ac.uk
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