The biggest change to manhood? Equal parenting. | Michael Kaufman

Описание: The biggest change to manhood? Equal parenting.
New videos DAILY: https://bigth.ink
Join Big Think Edge for exclusive video lessons from top thinkers and doers: https://bigth.ink/Edge
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The biggest example of a change in men's gendered behavior in recent years is the transformation of fatherhood. Nowadays, the definition of manhood has increasingly included being a present, and good caregiver.

Women have historically been burdened with childcare and housework. So much so that they usually longer off time off for parental leave. Also, they're the ones tending to take off work if their kid is sick. Because of this heavy role in parenting, many women have not been able to advance far in the workforce.

By men doing half of the care work, it's boosted women's empowerment. It's also great for children's emotional development and well-being. It's also great for men, too, because, as a result of being a successful caregiver, men are more likely to build up a sense of empathy, which can help them in leadership positions.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MICHAEL KAUFMAN:

Michael Kaufman, PhD, is the co-founder of the White Ribbon Campaign, the largest effort in the world of men working to end violence against women. As a writer and speaker, he has worked across America and in almost 50 countries, including extensively with the United Nations, numerous governments, NGOs, and businesses. He is the author or editor of eight books on gender issues, on democracy and development studies, including The Guy's Guide to Feminism, Theorizing Masculinities, and most recently,

The Time Has Come: Why Men Must Join the Gender Equality Revolution.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIPT:

MICHAEL KAUFMAN: The biggest example of a change in men's lives and men's gendered behavior, in the definition of manhood, is right now in the transformation of fatherhood. You know, what we're seeing now is just this-- it's changing thousands of years of history. I remember when my kids were young, this was years ago, if I couldn't go out or do something or go to a meeting some night because I was looking after my kids, people would say, oh, you're babysitting tonight, or they say, oh great, how much you help out with your kids. And I'd be really pissed off. I'd be thinking, I don't babysit my own kids, I don't help out, I'm a parent.

Well, that was still a bit unusual back then. But now when I talk to young fathers in their 20s, in their 30s, no one would dare say to them, you're babysitting, you're helping out. Increasingly young fathers are saying, I'm striving to be an equal parent, I'm striving to take on half of the care work in my home, I'm striving to take on half of the housework. Now it's still unequal in our homes. It's still unequal. But increasingly we're seeing men doing more and more and more of that. Now the significance of this is huge. This is perhaps the single most important thing for gender equality at the workplace, for equal pay. It's because women are burdened with childcare and housework that they take longer off for parental leave, that they're the ones tending to take off work if their kid is sick, that women can't advance in the workforce as far.

Women don't go for that promotion, women don't travel as much for work, and so forth. So with men doing half of the care work, it's going to be a major boost to women's empowerment, to equal pay. It's also-- and all the research tells us this is great for children, for children's emotional development and well-being-- but we also know this is good for men. And one of the biggest things is this. To be a successful caregiver you've got to be empathetic, and you gotta be empathetic because a little kid, a baby, can't talk, and when they can start talking they can't express their emotions. So a parent has to feel what a baby feels. So think about it. Think about if, for thousands of years in some cultures, men haven't been doing the primary childcare, it means and men have become less empathetic than we could be. Part of our definition of manhood hasn't been how feely and connected you are, it's how tough you are and how this you are, so if we change fatherhood we're changing something is at the very heart of our ideas of what it means to be a man.

And if you're more empathetic what does that mean? Well, it means there's going to be less violence, because it's harder to cause harm to someone if you can feel the pain you're causing. It's going to be a huge boost to leadership. I was speaking last year in Singapore to a group of bankers. These were bankers both from Asia and in Europe. And this one senior vice president of a major Briti...

For the full transcript, check out https://bigthink.com/videos/manhood