Use the upcoming Father's Day holiday to celebrate your working fathers — and provide them with the benefits they need, too.
While many employers and benefits companies have turned their attention to the needs of working mothers, working dads often find themselves excluded from the caregiver conversation. But today's dads are more involved in their family's lives than previous generations, and they want a seat at the table when it comes to benefits and workplace policies that benefit them and their entire families.
"My wife had all these different communities, but when I looked around I couldn't find any dad communities rooted in gender equity and progressive thinking," says Brian Anderson, co-founder of Fathering Together, a non-profit organization that offers educational resources as well as in-person and online communities centered around
A 2021 report by
"Men are often excluded from the conversation around support for working mothers," says Blessing Adesiyan, founder and CEO of caregiving benefits provider Mother Honestly. "This has a huge effect on working mothers because it essentially signals that care is a women's issue."
From paternity leave benefits to caregiving support for both parents, here are a few ways employers can promote equality in the workplace and at home.
Prioritize paternity leave
Closing the
"When you have both parents fully able to participate in the at-home duties, that can lessen stress for both parents overall," says Funk. "Which means you have parents who are better able to show up, be present at work, be super productive and really give you their best."
Funk stresses that paternity leave does more than give the dad time to bond with their baby (which multiple studies emphasize is essential to the child's health), but it strengthens the entire family. According to McKinsey, 100% of men were glad they took leave and would do it again, while 90% noticed an improvement in their relationship with their partner.
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Create inclusive conversations for fathers
Adesiyan believes that employers are key to including dads in the caregiving conversation. If companies articulate their support for fatherhood within their benefits, leave policies and leadership training, it will start to change the gendered expectations surrounding child care for the better, she says
"Employers should create opportunities for fathers in the workplace to flourish in their responsibilities at home," says Adesiyan. "This includes offering an equal amount of paid parental leave, providing substantial childcare solutions and finally providing a forum for these conversations around care to be mainstream."
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Embrace flexibility for all parents
As more organizations advertise a "family-first" culture, it would seem the father's role of caretaker is being more widely embraced. However, the fact remains that employers value facetime, and men especially feel that if they don't show up, they will miss out. If a working dad's professional role can be done just as well on a hybrid or remote schedule, how can employers help break the stigma surrounding the expectation to always be in-office? Setting personal examples and having clear communication is a great place to start, says Priya Krishnan, chief digital and transformation officer at Bright Horizons.
"When you've got management that models this, that's probably the most important step because it makes it okay for everyone else," she says. "When you prioritize work from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., there's an implicit assumption that's what you're expecting people to do. But my life circumstances might be different; this might not be something I expect from people with families, but if I'm not explicit about it, it won't be understood."
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