Fatherhood in Transition: The Impact of Involved Fathering on Women's Careers

Background: In the wake of placing greater importance on their careers, women are reentering the workforce more quickly after becoming mothers; at the same time, men are becoming increasingly involved in childcare and housework when they become fathers (Coltrane et al., 2013). In fact, there is increasing pressure on men to not only be “providers,” but also equal partners in co-parenting (Burke & Major, 2014; Harrington et al., 2010). Although being a good provider was once equivalent to being a good father, this is no longer the case and new modes of fatherhood are on the rise. The approach known as “involved fathering” is less prevalent than traditional approaches; however, scholars have uncovered a number of benefits such as increased job satisfaction and commitment, when organizations support this new mode of fathering (Ladge et al., 2015). However, most men in the U.S. lack resources, such as paternity leave and formal workplace flexibility, that help them adjust to their fatherhood roles (Cooper, 2000) and become more involved at home (Kaufman, 2013). When men take advantage of flexible work arrangements and take on more duties at home, they reduce the “second-shift” (Hochschild, 1989) burden that working mothers often experience (Ladge et al., 2015). In fact, research has found that fathers’ family involvement directly impacts the mothers’ work-family balance (Fagan & Press, 2008), and demonstrated that when men alleviate childcare and housework demands from their wives/partners, they help working mothers advance in their careers (Ladge et al., 2015; Mundy, 2013).