Food (or Stats) For Thought
Posted on 29. Apr, 2009 by Brian Reid in General
Thanks to Jason, who pointed me to this Boston Globe piece from last week, I am only now stumbling upon this absolutely brilliant Families and Work Institute release that details their surveys on what the next generation thinks about work and home.
I’ve argued for a long time that Gen X has a completely different (broader, more flexible) view of work-family balance than the boomers before them and that Gen Y is waaay more willing to step off the hampster wheel for family than even my Xer peers. The FWI study backs that up.
Among the highlights:
- “26 percent of women living in dual-earner couples had annual earnings at least 10 percentage points higher than that of spouses/partners, up from 15 percent in 1997.” That’s a huge expansion of families that could afford to have dads at home.
- Only 41 percent of employees in 2008 believe it is better to have dad be the breadwinner and mom at home. It was down from 64 percent in 1977. More striking: 74 percent of guys thought that way in 1977, when I was in diapers. Today, the number among men is 42 percent. Is that low enough? No. But it’s an amazing change in societies attitudes in the blink of an eye, demographically.
- In 1992, 21 percent of moms said that dads were pulling equal duty — or better — around the house. We’re up to 31 percent now. (If you ask the dads, 49 percent say they are at least equal partners. *That* discrepancy deserves some followup.)
- Dads who work spend 50 percent more time with their kids per day than a similar group of dads did 30 years ago. (3 hours a day versus 2 hours a day. Working moms have held steady at 3.8 hours.) For working dads under 29, that number jumps to 4.3 hours.
There are a lot of numbers to digest, but they suggest that we’re moving quickly (though not quickly enough) to a more equal work when it comes to the home duties. Of course, my worry continues to be that we’ll hit a point of diminishing returns: sure, most of us are doing more around the house than our dads did, but will the next generation make similar gains. Or are we nearing the point of “good enough,” where a dad in 2010 is about as engaged as a dad from 2000 — and still less engaged than the average mom?
This isn’t all good news: dads are may more work-life stressed than they ever used to be, but it’s a small price to pay for progress.
sarah
29. Apr, 2009
HI Brian - I am actually trying to send you an email and it “failed permanently” in getting to you.
What is another email address? I am preforming some research that I’d like for you to be a part of.
Please let me know. Thanks much!
-Sarah
Writer Dad
29. Apr, 2009
Not only are those amazing numbers to think about, I love your follow up questions regarding a dad in 2010 vs. a dad in 2000. Fantastic food for thought.
Kelly M Bray
10. May, 2009
This study is statistically flawed. I have questions about the size and composition of the sample. The other problem is that there are no couples where one of the parents is staying at home. All are married couples with both members in the workforce. A better example would have included couples who have a much harder decision about balance.
“…dads are may more work-life stressed than they ever used to be, but it’s a small price to pay for progress.”
I disagree…that having more stress in men’s lives is in any a trade off that is “a small price to pay for progress.” Men’s lives are worth more than that. Progress is not a zero sum game. This is another way of saying we are disposable. The United states ranks 45th in life span averages, with women living to 81 and men only 75. The US suicide rate for men is 11.7, to 4.5 for women. Maybe we should treat men and boys as the precious individuals that they are. It is not all about what makes women happy