British fathers are the worst in the world after coming
bottom of a global study into childcare responsibilities.
For every hour UK mums spend looking after their children
men provide just 24 minutes worth of care.
This ranks the UK bottom out of 15 countries, making parents
the worst in the developed world.
Portuguese dads top the list spending 39 minutes looking after
children for every hour a woman puts in.
And despite the introduction of shared parental leave last
April, the UK languished at 11th on the table - out of 21 countries - for the
most equal parental leave system.
But the study found that British parents are better at
sharing chores than childcare, with men doing 34 minutes of housework and
cooking for every hour a woman does, placing us fifth out of 15 countries.
Commissioned by the Fatherhood Institute, the Fatherhood
Institute’s Fairness In Families Index (FIFI) compared countries on a variety
of factors to determine gender equality.
Over all the UK has dropped three places since 2010, coming
12th out of 22.
The top five most egalitarian countries are all
Scandinavian, with Sweden clinching the top spot.
Researchers identified three key factors inhibiting gender
equality around looking after children in the UK; pay gap, an unequal parental
leave system and mother-centric family services.
Fatherhood Institute chair Will McDonald said: “It’s clear
that today’s fathers want to play a substantial role in caring for their young
children – and mothers want more sharing too.
“What our analysis shows is that compared to other
countries, the UK has failed to create the structures to support families to
achieve the greater sharing that they want, and that is so important for our
children’s futures.
“This needs to change, or we will continue to fall behind.”
The UK pay gap between men and women was the 15th worst out
of 22 countries, with a 17.4 per cent difference.
The country with the fairest pay across the sexes was New
Zealand with just 5.6 per cent difference.
Rt Hon Maria Miller MP, Chair of the Women and Equalities
Select Committee, said: “Businesses cannot afford to ignore the parenting
revolution that millennials want to see and the PM won’t succeed in his vision
of eliminating the gender pay gap unless we see a more equal sharing of
parental duties as the new norm.
“Until fathers can take up more parental responsibility,
particularly when their children are very young, we won’t see a reduction in
the gender pay gap.”
The findings were published ahead of Father’s Day, on June
19, and alongside findings suggested policy changes the government could make
to progress gender equality.
-The Independent-
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