Study highlights role of father in work and family life

The Research Centre for Gender Equality in collaboration with Panteion University has conducted a nationwide study on the role played by fathers in work and family life. The study looked at daily practices of Greek fathers and their views on parenting issues such as the relationships with their children, gender roles and work–life balance. The initial findings were presented at an international conference held in Athens in December 2006.

In December 2006, the initial findings of a study on the father’s role in work and family life were presented at an international conference held in Athens. The study was conducted by the Research Centre for Gender Equality (Κέντρο Ερευνών για Θέματα Ισότητας, KETHI) in collaboration with Panteion University in Athens.

About the study

The study aimed to investigate everyday practices and views of Greek fathers on the following issues:

• relationships with children;

• the role of both sexes in relation to working, family and personal life;

• the problems encountered in balancing work and family/personal life.

The questionnaire-based research surveyed 200 Greek fathers between the ages of 30 and 60 years, who are employed in the private and broader public sector and who live in five Greek cities: the capital city Athens in the southeast, Thessaloniki in the north, Patras in western Greece, Volos in central Greece and Heraklion on the island of Crete.

Main findings

The general trends emerging from the initial findings of the study show greater involvement of men in household tasks during the family’s free time; however, this involvement is mostly limited to running errands outside the home and spending time with the children.

A large proportion (71.1%) of the respondents stated that their work did not interfere with their role as fathers, whereas 28.9% stated that work did have a negative influence on their parenting role. The fathers surveyed consider working time to be the main obstacle to spending more time with their children. Moreover, men believe that their partners have more free time than they do, despite the fact that both spouses work eight-hour days.

In terms of take-up of parental leave, a large majority (71.4%) of men are aware of their rights regarding such leave. However, 31.6% of male respondents stated that they never avail of parental leave to meet the needs of their children, while 27% rarely take parental leave and only 8.2% often avail of such leave entitlements. As far as enterprises are concerned, 72.8% of the male respondents stated that their employers are supportive of work–life balance issues, whereas only 27.2% said that their employer did not facilitate efforts to reconcile work and family life.

Commentary

The gap between men and women with regard to their use of time is most evident where there are children in the family. In general, this is something that has a decisive influence on women’s choices and limits their opportunities to perform jobs similar to those undertaken by men. Thus, in large enterprises employing over 100 workers, only 10% of women hold top-paying, high-ranking jobs. Against this background, the year 2007, as the European Year of equal opportunities, presents a challenge for Greek companies to make the necessary changes in order to improve gender equality.

Anda Stamati, Labour Institute of Greek General Confederation of Labour (INE-GSEE)