Fathers at work: a discussion of paternal rights in the workplace

Recorded history illustrates a society wherein family roles and responsibilities differed greatly from the present. Traditionally, the mother stayed at home for cooking and cleaning duties, while the father toiled away at work, carrying the sole responsibility of earning a living.

However, the world of 2023 is very much different; norms have changed and so have parental rights. In the UK, it is now as common as ever for a mother to work as much as a father, albeit within the confines placed by the cost of childcare.

Han-Son Lee, the founder of Daddilife.com, an online community that aims to support fathers, has noticed this change in roles. Back in May 2019, Daddilife conducted research - with a project entitled ‘The Millennial Dad At Work’ - on life for 1200 fathers at work. Lee says that ‘despite the fact that 87% of millennial dads were actively engaged in their day-to-day parenting responsibilities, the notion that ‘dads should just be at work’ persists. A position fails to help genuine orientation equilibrium and orientation fairness’.