As many of us take a day to recognise the fathers in our worlds, we take a second to look at what employers can do for fathers that will help the whole family, and perhaps the wider economy to thrive. With 50% of working women in Plymouth in part time employment compared to only 10% of men and with the gender pay gap remaining persistently high, we need to take a look at what we can do to tackle this and the part employers may have to play.
In her new book Caregiving Fathers in the Workplace – Organisational Experiences and the Fatherhood Forfeit, Dr Jasmine Kelland talks about the explicit bias that exists in both recruitment and employment practice. A bias which stops fathers accessing part time and flexible working opportunities, sees them regarded as secondary parents, and hears about how they are treated with suspicion and ridicule if they choose to take on the school run or work less hours than some of their colleagues.
She makes some great, simple recommendations that businesses can adopt to start to make a difference to this picture and is also happy to offer her time as an HR specialist to work with businesses who want to start to make a difference. If anyone wants to get in touch with her to find out what she can do for you then please get in touch with her at
Dr Kelland is keen to hear from businesses who would like some expertise to think about any changes they might want to make towards this agenda.
Dr Kelland’s ‘fatherhood forfeit’ research has been published by the House of Commons Women and Equalities Select Committee and referred to in a House of Commons debate exploring ‘Fathers in the Family’. She has also presented her research to the UK Parliament All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fatherhood, professional and international academic conferences and numerous organisations.
Organisations can also support this agenda by signing up to the Resurgam Charter and committing to an inclusive growth agenda for Plymouth. This work is part of the Employ theme of the Plymouth Covid Recovery Plan and is funded by Intereg as part of the Covid – Channel Area Response Exchange (C-Care).