Berlin.
How do fathers see themselves today? Sociologist Kim Bräuer has investigated this. A conversation about uncertainty and the pursuit of perfection.
Only every tenth father in Germany does the main work in the family, raising and caring for the children. Equality has not yet been achieved here. But the trend towards active fatherhood is clearly recognizable. These are the results of a study by sociologists from the Technical Universities of Braunschweig and Kiel. In an interview, project manager Kim Bräuer explains whether Corona has changed the situation and why employers often unsettle fathers.
Ms. Bräuer, please explain briefly how you examined the current image of the father?
Kim Brewer: The first part of our study consists of 55 qualitative interviews with fathers. Employed people from different sectors, non-employed people and fathers who consciously house men are at home. Part two is an online survey that over 3000 fathers took part in. Based on scientific quality criteria, we were able to use 2200 results. The third part consists of an analysis of seven of the German fathers’ blogs with the widest coverage on the Internet.
What is the most important result of your investigation?
brewer: The idea of active fatherhood has arrived in all milieus, even if it is not valued in the same way everywhere. Not all fathers think this is a great idea, but all fathers are grappling with the image of the active father, and for all fathers who took part in our study it is important to build an emotional and trusting relationship with the children. The image of the father as breadwinner the family no longer dominates. Only about 1.4 percent of them consider it their most important task to offer their families financial security.
Over 80 percent of the fathers in your study worked 40 hours a week or more. However, almost every second person believed that they did just as much housework and family work as their partner. That doesn’t work.
brewer: As a sociologist, it is not particularly surprising to me that there are differences in what people perceive and what they do. This is my daily bread. That our study here a contradiction revealed is important. And it could also spark a debate. But I find another finding much more interesting.
Which one?
brewer: Almost all of the fathers we interviewed believe that they do not live up to their own ideas about being a father. I interviewed fathers for a study back in 2015, when this aspect didn’t play a role at all. Fathers seem to be thinking a lot now critical about themselves and have high standards of themselves.
You want to be super dad?
brewer: The desire for perfection is an issue, for sure. But the perceived gap between aspiration and reality means something else: fathers are also involved compatibility problems confronted. So far, this has mainly been attributed to women.
What are the consequences?
brewer: Those fathers who would like to split up family and work, but who are unable to do so, reported the most unhappy about their family life. They describe many conflicts.
What does this mean for society?
brewer: In the past there were many programs from politics, but also in companies, which aimed at one change in values have aimed. This point seems fulfilled. I believe that fathers now need more support in order to actually be able to get involved in family and child-rearing work in practice. To this end, they should be addressed more often as parents with equal rights, be it in daycare, at school or in voluntary work. More offers for fathers are needed.
In your opinion, what could politicians do to improve the situation for fathers?
brewer: The parental allowance reform must continue. That would be central. Fathers who do not have a high income need 100 percent wage compensation. Because they are for them fathers months been a hurdle because they often cannot afford it. This is where politics comes into play, also with a view to social justice.
What can companies do?
brewer: I think they are in the Duty should be signaled that fathers should actively participate in family work. That they can stay at home when children are sick. The fathers interviewed were very unsure whether this would really be accepted in the company.
It is said that Corona could have contributed to a re-traditionalization of father and mother roles. Your study also includes the time of the pandemic. What do you say?
brewer: We don’t see that in our data. The role model does not move back towards tradition. Fathers may not have cared as much as mothers during the pandemic, but they did more than they did before the pandemic, just because they had to. And during this time they have become more aware of the problem of balancing family and career.
What surprised you most about the study results?
brewer: That fathers are very worried about climate change and the consequences it has for their children. At the same time is environmentally friendly Behave one of the most unpopular values fathers try to instill in their children. I really wonder why that is.
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