WORKING dads are shirking their parental responsibilities, according to the busy working mums married to them.
A survey of more than 1000 Aussie mums has revealed most women believe they get little support from their husbands as they struggle to juggle careers and family responsibilities.
Just five 5 per cent of mums surveyed in a new ReachTEL poll say their partner is primarily in charge of caring for their kids, and only 16 per cent say they share childcare responsibilities with their partner equally.
Jo Briskey, from advocacy group The Parenthood, said the results show Australia has been unable to shake the 1950s notion that it is a mum’s job to look after the kids.
“If we’re going to achieve true gender equality we really need to see more dads picking up the slack — which means greater workplace flexibility and challenging the notion that dad’s primary job is to be the provider,†she said.
Ms Briskey said more dads wanted to take on child rearing responsibilities but old-fashioned workplace cultures and expectations continued to make that difficult.
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Lawyer Anika Wells, the chair of the Maurice Blackburn’s Women’s Network, said the right to request flexible working arrangements was available to all employees, regardless of gender.
“Men who have responsibility for the care of a child are equally entitled to apply for flexible working arrangements and men are equally protected under Australian discrimination laws,†she said.
Ms Wells said these flexible work entitlements could include modified hours of work, job sharing, shift splitting or working from home.
“Sadly, we know the reality is that many dads will never take this step — these statistics show dads are not securing flexible work arrangements and they are missing out on the essential early time with their new child,†she said.
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Former investment banker turned stay at home father of two, Will Anderson, is bucking the trend.
Mr Anderson, from the Brisbane suburb of Clayfield, began looking after his children full time when he returned to Australia after more than a decade in London and his wife found a job first.
“I enjoy it, I really like volunteering at school, participating with the kids spending time around them, I don’t mind the domestic work too,†he said.
“I don’t feel like I’ve missed out by having this break from my career,†he says.
Mr Anderson has become used to being the only dad around during daytime school activities for his eldest daughter, but admits there is still some degree of stigma around being a stay at home dad.
“The fathers who are pretty happy with their careers, they just go — ‘good on you!’ — but there are other dads who would love to be in my position, but can’t because of the fact that they are the primary earner and all that responsibility is on them,†he said.