by
FIDAPA, Sezione Torino San Giovanni
Project Supervisor: Dr. Barbara Chiavarino.
With the contribution
of the following organizations for conducting
the investigative interviews:
* Fondazione
Pietro Seveso of Milan
*
Veneto Lavoro di Mestre (VE)
* Artigianato C.A.S.A. (Confederazione
Autonoma Sindacato Artigiani) of Turin
(Employers’ organization)
* Escaler Cooperativa di Girona, Catalunya,
Spain.
CONTEXT,
GOALS AND METHODOLOGY
The
research conducted in Italy by FIDAPA is
a statistical qualitative survey
inspired by the intent to survey the experiences,
and over all the perceptions, regarding
the conciliation issues of Italian fathers
having children from age zero to three years
old, and with a female partner who works
or studies, or in any event not definable
as a “housewife”.
The choice of this target arises from the
analysis of two situations, apparently in
contradiction, found on a national level
and beyond. On the one hand, the measurements
of the health facilities shows a strong
presence of new fathers in the pre-birth
phases and during pregnancy; on the other
hand, when the perspective is shifted to
the world of work, these presences are not
followed up by concrete manifestations
of sharing in the caretaking tasks
to the point of being recorded in the taking
of parental leaves, the request for more
flexibility in one’s hours or in some
other form of work behavior differentiation
between the before and after of becoming
a father.
And this precisely during the first three
years which are an extremely important phase
in the physical-psychological development
of the child as well as a time full of changes
in the so-called “household”.
On many fronts women’s associations
are finding that the legislation
that governs maternity and parental leave
in Italy, though valid, is apparently
not yet sufficient to provide an effective
support to parenthood. For example in Italy
there is still a lack of social services
for children under 3 years old: only 6%
of minors in this age group benefit from
welfare services such as daycare centers,
home baby-sitting services or other types
of projects, funded by a public entity.
Precisely the lack of services for
early childhood is one of the “objective”
causes of the high rate of female unemployment.
Nonetheless, together with and perhaps even
underlying the problem of childcare we have
a persistence of cultural models
and stereotypes of the roles and tasks of
the two genders.
The present study deals precisely with this
broad issue, and its purpose is to probe
the behaviors and, as far as possible, the
persistence of stereotypes among a sample
of young fathers. It was conducted by processing
and analyzing the results of a questionnaire
administered and gathered in Italy by interviewers
associated with Fidapa, compiled
autonomously and confidentially by the interviewers.
It is clear that the interviewed do not
constitute a statistically representative
sample of working fathers with children
up to 3 years old, but their characteristics
have been compared with those of the national
population to measure their correspondences
and possible deviations from the norm.
The sampling
by quotas of a segment of the Italian male
population simultaneously met three distinct
requisites: being
a father of a child 0 - 3 years old; living
with the mother of the child in the same
family unit; the mother
works during or before pregnancy.
The
instrument we came up with was a
questionnaire, with mainly closed
questions (some open questions were introduced
to which few responded in a satisfactory
manner), broken down into 6 theme
sections:
Personal
traits of the interviewee and composition
of the family unit; Leisure time; Work and
time dedicated to work by the interviewee
and his partner; Division of household responsibilities
and childcare activities; Facilities, caretaking
instruments and legislation on this matter;
Personal and familial well-being (quality
of life).
About
300 valid questionnaires were
distributed and 205 were
collected, while 22 questionnaires were
considered unacceptable, incomplete or non-compliant
with even only one of the three basic requisites.
This
survey was accompanied by the interviews
of about fifty subjects different from those
of the previous sample, but equally belonging
to the same survey segment (Italian
fathers with children under three years
old).
The interviews were conducted in Piedmont,
Lombardy and Veneto for the purpose of investigating
and analyzing the dynamics and realities
of the professional/work scenario with greater
information resources.
The Spanish project partner, the Cooperativa
Escaler, Girona wished to contribute by
examining the work and social situation
of Catalonia.
THE
INTERVIEWEES, PARTNERS, CHILDREN
The
sample of 205 fathers considered by the
Fidapa survey falls within the
age range of 18-59 years
old. The numerically more representative
classes are the bracket from 30-39 years
old (58%) and the bracket from 40-49 years
old (32%).
The
education of the interviewees
is distributed on middle-high levels: 43%
among undergraduates and postgraduates,
with a slight prevalence of the southern
regions in the sample. These are followed
by high school graduates at 36%, then vocational
qualification and middle school graduates
at 10%.
The
family units of the interviewees
are made up of parents and a child or children
in 98% of the cases: only in 5 families
is the presence of other people, i.e. grandparents
or nannies, indicated within the unit.
There
is a prevalence of families with only one
child making up 101 out of 205 (49%) of
the sample, while those with 2 children
were 80 out of 205 (39% of the total); on
the other hand, the families with 3 or 4
children were only 24 out of 205, or 12%
of the total sample.
Fathers
with children under one year old made up
25% of the sample; in 53% of the cases the
child was the first child, in 33% of the
cases it was the second child and in 14%
of the cases it was the third child.
Among
the interviewees with only one child (and
that child under 1-year-old) there was a
clear predominance of the age bracket 30-39
years old, which made up 78% of the sample.
Regarding families with 3 or 4 children
(making up 11% of the interviewed population)
it is interesting to note that a high percentage
of fathers of large families has its third
child under the age of 40: this statistic
is apparently in countertrend to the choice
of delaying the time for starting a family.
Forty-five
percent of the respondents practice sports
in their leisure time,
while 23% actively participate in an association
and 28% have a hobby.
The
average number of hours spent per week on
these activities is 2-3 hours (55% in the
case of sports, 42% in the case of associations
or groups, 50% in the case of hobbies);
4-5 hours a week is spent by 22% of the
interviewees in associations or groups and
21% of them practice hobbies and sports;
the percentages of people spending over
five hours on these activities is much lower
for all the categories of fathers.
We
also tried to measure the variation in the
number of hours dedicated to the above-mentioned
activities upon becoming a father. Five
percent of the respondents report an increased
amount of time dedicated to the abovementioned
activities, 27% say there was no significant
difference while 68% reduced their free
time and specified that the decision resulted
from the needs of the family.
T
majority of subjects interviewed
in the workplace by Veneto Lavoro, Fondazione
Seveso and Artigianato Casa also
said they had changed their work schedules
or somehow tried to be a bit more present
at home. They have long work hours and reconciliation,
even with their partner, is very difficult.
Though
the average absence from home remains between
8-10 hours for the man (and 28% of the total
remains at more than 10 hours away from
home), many said that in prioritizing their
desire/pleasure of experiencing fatherhood
they had in any case decided not to work
late in the evenings unless absolutely necessary,
and the same applies to work on the weekends,
regardless of the type of job or availability
of the partner.
The
sample studied by a Fidapa survey is distributed
evenly over different types of jobs:
clerks (28%), professionals (19%) and a
significant number of self-employed workers,
artisans and merchants (total 18%). Teachers
only made up 3%. Entrepreneurs and directors
together made up 14% of the interviewees
while laborers made up 11%. Certain situations
remain undefined and we have placed put
them under the category "Other",
making up 7% of the interviewees.
Among
the partners of the interviewees there were
many clerks (37%) and teachers (17%); less
weight was held by women with managerial
roles (5% between entrepreneurs and directors)
and workers (15% for self-employed workers
and professionals).
For
81% of the sample the typical work
hours were counted per day, broken
or continuous; 16% says they work shifts
(more frequently at night), and 3% adopt
other formulas. Three percent of the sample
says they “always” work evenings
or weekends, 19% "often" and 49%
"once in awhile", as opposed to
28% of interviewees who do not use timeframes
for work.
Moreover,
comparing the hours spent away from home
for work and travel, we note a considerable
difference between men and women: the higher
scores for the men fall under the category
8-10 hours, while for the women they fall
under the category of 6-8 hours.
Specifically
in families with three or four children
we note that 57% of the fathers of this
category carries out professions that allow
them a good standard of living (entrepreneurs,
professionals, managers), while 38% have
professions with middle to low income (clerks,
teachers, laborers, artisans). The professions
of their partners are distributed inversely:
17% are professionals, self-employed workers,
managers and 83% are clerks, teachers or
have undeclared activities. It is clear
that numerous families need a financial
stability that is still provided by the
male figure and there is not a complete
sharing of burdens and responsibilities
but a division into the roles of breadwinner/caregiver.
MATERNITY
AND WORK
The
questionnaires distributed by Fidapa were
based on the hypothesis – formulated
in light of the data available from various
sources in Italy – of a strong
influence of the maternity factor in occupational
decisions.
The question "Regarding the
last maternity, your partner currently ..."
clarified the following situation: 56% of
the women interviewed went back to work
normally,13% requested part-time, 9% requested
an extension of their maternity leave, 5%
left their job and another 4% is still taking
the maternity leave required by law. There
remains a percentage classified as "Other"
which includes 7% who did not respond to
the question and 6% answers that were different
and related to particular or atypical work
situations.
Forty
percent of the interviewees responded to
a direct question that maternity influences
or can influence to a fair degree the work
conditions of the partner, her career prospects
and her interpersonal relationships at the
workplace. If we compare the type of job
with these scores, it emerges that the negative
consequences of maternity on work are few
or null if the woman is a teacher (and therefore
works a schedule on average shorter than
that of most other professions) or chooses
self-employment that allows her to manage
her hours flexibly.
Cases
of interviewed fathers responding that the
partner left her job after the birth
of the child made up 5% of the
sample. This statistic is not absolute proof
because the questionnaire was aimed at family
units in which both parents were "active",
and it excluded tout court situations in
which the partner was a "housewife".
On the other hand, a similar statistic might
give cause for reflection precisely about
this exclusion. To the question: "Do
you think maternity has affected or might
affect the work conditions of your partner,
her career prospects or her interpersonal
relationships at the workplace?" 90%
compilers obviously responded "Considerably".
Among the reasons indicated to support their
answer we find: "Difficulty finding
a job later"; “It will be difficult
to return to work after losing contact",
"She lost her job because of maternity",
"Greater family commitments and longer
travel time", "With a self-employed
occupation my partner cannot use the legislative
advantages".
From
the analysis of Artigianato CASA
of Turin on a random sample of 25 fathers
having the characteristics delineated by
the Fidapa survey, it was found that in
as many as five cases, that which is reported
as a "clerk" job, in actuality
refers to "she who takes care of the
accounting/administrative aspects of the
company", often without even having
a bona fide work contract. This is a typical
characteristic of family-run businesses
and many artisans or micro-companies where
the woman/partner is a helper and often
runs important matters of the company management
but in fact is always in a "shadow"
position. In some cases the interview highlighted
that this position is the fruit of a "choice
by the woman" precisely with regard
to maternity: being fired from your job
(perhaps because part-time or flexible hours
were not granted, and reconversion to the
family business, with an hourly commitment
that in many cases is burdensome but affords
a considerable degree of freedom and flexibility
(first and foremost psychological freedom).
Another
interesting study regarding maternity and
work was the one conducted by Fondazione
Pietro Seveso of Milan on a group
of 20 trade union managers considered in
their role as father to explore how sensitive
they were to the themes of sharing work
and caregiving and to probe their perception
of the difficulties of reconciliation in
the work place.
There
is a widespread awareness that maternity
forces the partner to give up her full-time
work schedule, career prospects and professional
development because, as we can see from
the answers to the open questions, they
are "working in male chauvinist environments
where presence is more important than the
quality of the work" and also because
companies view "having children as
an obstacle to full participation in the
life of the company and the woman is isolated
as a result". For most of the interviewees
it was difficult to combine the needs of
the family with those of work because these
two spheres, family and work, move at a
different pace and according to a different
logic and needs depending on the type of
work, the hours, the daycare centers and
schools and, as some stated "in life
these two things don’t fit together".
In some cases the priority is given explicitly
to the family with a reduction in the partners
commitment to work.
It
appears that, though in an environment that
is politically oriented towards the issues
of equality and equal opportunity, it is
taken for granted that the heavier loads
deriving from family commitments "must"
fall on the women who, no matter how aware
they are of the cost in terms of sacrificing
vocational opportunities and workload.
From
the analysis of the interviews of
Veneto Lavoro on employees of medium-large
companies classified as laborers, clerks
and managers, we could ascertain that in
some cases going back to work full-time
was not a choice for the woman but a need
induced by the serious fear that she would
lose her job if she did not accept full-time
hours and the evident economic consequences
on the family's standard of living. It should
be pointed out that most of the women do
not use baby parking because it would not
be economically advantageous ("she
would work to maintain the child at the
parking and would not be able to put any
money aside; therefore it is more advantageous
for her to stay home directly with her children
and watch them herself"). In these
cases a fundamental role is played by the
grandparents who in most cases are the people
who take care of the grandchildren on a
habitual and ongoing basis.
DOMESTIC
AND FAMILY ACTIVITIES
Starting
with the national statistics gathered by
ISTAT which describe generations of fathers
who were quite absent from domestic and
family activities, we analyzed what
concrete contributions interviewees made
to their families.
The total of possible answers on the Fidapa
questionnaires were 205 and it can be observed
that for some jobs the women were indicated
in over 90% of the cases (185-200 units):
preparing meals and feeding the children,
bathing the children and assisting them
during illness.
Even
the investigative interviews confirmed that
the working woman almost entirely
takes charge of the housework and prepares
the main meals (the male contribution
does not exceed 20%). In some cases this
has jeopardized her career and the quality
of her interpersonal relationships at work
and reduced the amount of time she can give.
Consequently she requests part-time or the
extension of maternity leave, or even definitively
leaves her job (in 5% of cases).
For
these same childcare activities the men
were much less present but they reported
that they carry out other tasks directly:
shopping and errands;
maintenance of the house and garden (this
was the only activity where women were assigned
a much lower score than the other tasks):
taking children to and picking them up from
daycare and other organized activities;
participating in recreational and leisure
activities with the children at home and
away from home.
In
the cases of "shopping and errands"
and "maintenance" the scores given
to the men are higher than those given to
the women.
Men
were also assigned a high score referring
to "activities involving relations
with relatives and friends" which go
beyond playing with the children.
The
scores of the male contribution assigned
to taking care of the house and preparing
the main meals for the family are very low
(42 and 41 out of 205).
From
the interviews conducted by Artigianato
CASA we can clearly see persistence
in the perception of "diversity":
the role of father is "complementary"
to that of the mother, extremely important
for the education and growth of the child
but which may be "quantitatively inferior".
And caregiving is intrinsically attributed
to the woman. Ever higher percentages of
fathers – especially if young –
takes upon themselves the right/pleasure
of bathing or feeding the children (“when
I'm at home" I prepare meals, change
the child, feed the child, etc.). The lion's
share of his time is dedicated to work,
and even more so in a situation of widespread
economic worry where purchasing power has
dropped considerably. Having children is
costly and children are at the top of the
list of worries of the father and the father’s
partner (in the scores/assessments given).
In
the interviews with trade union organizers
conducted by Fondazione Seveso,
the questions on family management were
broken down into two areas: general management
including the household organization and
care of the home, maintenance and relationships;
assistance to children including caregiving,
relationships with the service facilities,
entertainment and play. A large group of
the interviewees (30% which could be defined
as "sharing" declares that they,
along with her partners, carry out nearly
all the childcare activities indicated in
the questionnaire. A second group (35%)
defined as "participating" maintain
relations with the services and facilities
outside the family unit but engage in only
some of the actual caregiving activities:
generally preparing meals and feeding the
children but not bathing them. The last
group (35%), that of the "halftime"
fathers, dedicates time to their children
mostly for recreation activities, escorting
and contact with the outside facilities
and services, leaving their partners all
the activities of assistance and caregiving.
A
further element that emerges is that participation
in and sharing of housework and child care
with the partner seems to phase out and
even disappears completely when the partner
reduces her outside work load.
From
the survey conducted by Escaler
in Girona on a sample of 20 fathers working
in an operative context similar to that
of the Cooperative itself (which deals expressively
with the issues of home/work reconciliation
for women) we find a positive desire to
collaborate in domestic activities: in fact
15 fathers out of 20 say that they actively
contribute to family management and share
the workloads with their women. This is
not surprising because the target chosen
for the interviews is already culturally
oriented in that direction precisely because
at least part of them come from a work environment
that deals with the issues of reconciliation
and sharing. In any case there were 5 fathers
who declared that only their partners take
care of the various family management activities.
We
made an effort to examine the behavior of
the category of fathers interviewed by Fidapa
who, when asked the question "When
were you directly involved” with reference
to the health services before and after
birth”, they responded yes to the
item "Assistance at delivery"
(these made up 66% of the interviewees).
Most
of the responses regarding childcare (meal
preparation and feeding, personal hygiene,
accompaniment, playing, shopping and assistance
to children during sickness) this category
of fathers is no different from the responses
given by the total sample. The participation
percentages are relatively low, between
22% for meal preparation and 52% for accompaniment
to the day care center. The score was much
higher for play activities (69%) which typically
represent a situation of emotional involvement
which a father chooses to dedicate his energy,
attention and time to his children in line
with the national statistics.
An
interesting comparison between fathers
of the age group 18-29 years (“young
fathers") and 50-59 years (“mature
fathers”) can be made for
that which concerns the amount of time dedicated
to domestic and family activities: though
in both categories we see a much lower involvement
of the fathers in taking care of the house
and children, in the "young fathers”
category these scores diminish even further.
The
generation gap can be seen in child care
where we there is a sign of greater awareness
in the generation of mature fathers, who
seem to want to find time for the children
to whom they dedicated less energy as young
fathers because they could not or would
not. However, fathers who had their first
children at a later age are probably much
more motivated in their decision to become
fathers and this makes them even more present
and engaged in family life. In particular
23% of young fathers declares that they
prepare meals, feed and bathe their children
as opposed to 42% of mature fathers.
As
regards play and leisure with the children
at home and away from home, traditionally
the activities to which fathers of all generations
dedicate time, 62% of young fathers declare
that they occupy themselves with these activities
as opposed to 83% of mature fathers.
LEGISLATIVE
STRUCTURES AND INSTRUMENTS
The
family's use of health and welfare services
before and after birth generally had a good
outcome (quite positive for 65% of the interviewees,
very positive for 20% of them).
The
observation according to which many fathers
today are much more involved in the event
of the child’s birth, assisting and
participating directly in the phases preceding
birth and during delivery, is confirmed
in the results of the interviews and does
not deviate much from the more general statistics
gathered for the Italian population: about
70% of fathers today assist their partner
during delivery.
Fathers
have declared that they were also directly
involved in accompaniment to the hospital
(91%), preparation for delivery (69%), and
accompaniment to checkups (77%).
Regarding
the question of the division of childcare
activities, we find that in 72% of cases
it is the women who maintain contacts
with the service facilities whereas
the men take carry out this task in 28%
of the cases. As regards accompaniment to
school or other activities and contacts
with the institutions, there is a conspicuous
difference between the generations of fathers:
29% of young fathers as opposed to 67% of
mature fathers.
Thirty-eight
percent of the interviewees declares that
their children from 0-3 years old are attending
a nursery school or a baby parking facility
but did not specify whether said facility
was public or private.
The profile of the families that bring their
children to nurseries is: middle income,
spread over all age brackets, and the average
number of children is 1.89.
It
is interesting to note how the interviewed
families assess the contribution
to child management provided by structures
outside the family or help from third persons,
such as grandparents, babysitters,
etc. The entirety of the questionnaires
was distributed in medium-large towns; the
most striking data is the very high percentage
of those who use nursery schools or are
on a waiting list to use the nursery school,
especially in relation to those who can
hand over the care of their children to
grandparents or people they trust. The difficulty
with respect to service facilities is correlated
to the number of mothers who have to leave
their jobs.
Those who hire baby sitters have a higher
income but are also younger and have a middle-upper
level of education; the average number of
children is 1.71.
Families
who depend on grandparents to take care
of the children (here we refer to a daily
commitment that lasts all day long, which
should not be confused with the occasional
sitting requested by the parents) are generally
of middle income, young and with a smaller
number of children (1.37) than the others:
often the "full-time” grandparents
provide this care for the first grandchild
but it becomes more complex when there are
more than one grandchildren.
From
the answers gathered from the Fidapa questionnaires,
Law No. 53 of 8 March 2000 is fairly well
known on a general and specific
level as regards the possibility to obtain
parental and caregiving leave (the first
two questions were answered “yes”
by 64% and 70% of the interviewees respectively).
However,
during the interviews of Artigianato
CASA, when the interviewer explained
Law No. 53 beforehand, all of the interviewees
immediately said they were familiar with
it, in the sense that they immediately identified
it (erroneously) with the law governing
maternity leave. In the specific case of
artisans/entrepreneurs, no one knew of the
opportunity provided by the owner-substitute
figure for caregiving needs.
In
this regard let us look at the analysis
of Veneto Lavoro, which
focuses on fathers who are employees in
medium-large companies in northeastern Veneto:
they were selected because they were particularly
sensitive to and informed about the application
of Law No. 53 for parental leave. In fact
most of the interviewees proved to have
a good knowledge of this law as well as
other instruments benefiting parenthood.
It is interesting to note that among those
who answered negatively to this first question,
many, if not most, answered “yes”
to the second question (which included a
description of the subject of that law).
Therefore they have basic knowledge that
some form of legislation protecting paternity
is in effect but do not fully know its ramifications,
and especially not all of its applications
and possibilities.
The
only cases in which the fathers benefited
from it or knew they could benefit from
it were those of employees of company facilities
that created an inner body (trade union)
which obtains information for them or, what
is more, provides them with printed forms
to fill out every time they are informed
of a situation in which it might be useful
to choose said instruments.
In
the Fidapa questionnaires the initially
encouraging data drops off terribly when
we cover the application of the law.
Parental leave was used by 11%
of the interviewees (22 out of 205), 3%
of whom declared that they had run into
difficulties in the work environment. In
cases where there was the possibility/availability
of a further investigation in the interviews,
a rather negative assessment emerged regarding
the possibility of using paternity leave.
The justification is not attributed to a
potentially unfavorable climate or "being
teased" in the workplace as much as
it is for reasons of economy/responsibilities
(the female partner earns less and/or has
lesser duties on the job and therefore,
between the two, the "best choice"
and almost compulsory choice falls on the
woman to stay at home).
In
response to the direct question, even though
49% of the respondents to the question said
“no”, 9% said that in the future
they would use the advantages provided by
the law, 27% would probably do so and 14%
had not yet thought about it.
Now
let us try to examine which fathers
answered that they had used the legislative
advantages defined by Law 53/2000 and the
subsequent Dlgs 151 of 2001.
We
are talking about 22 people out of the 205
interviewed by Fidapa, making up 11% of
the sample; if we examine the data and responses
more closely, we see a series of incongruities
that lead, first of all, to a marked reduction
in the percentage.
The age of the fathers goes from 30-49 years,
with an equal distribution in the 30-39
and 40-49 brackets.
Their
education level and placement in the work
world suggests a moderately educated segment
of the sample (28% has an undergraduate
or postgraduate degree, 48% has a high school
diploma) making up 48% of clerks and only
4% of managers, laborers and hospital workers.
Moreover there are 24% professionals, 8%
artisans, 4% self-employed workers, and
one might ask how they answered regarding
the use of Law No. 53. This element leads
us to point out the lack of real knowledge
about the law.
A different
scenario was found in the union context
analyzed by the Fondazione Seveso.
Law No. 53 is well-known even in its application
(which can be intuited since we are talking
about union organizers who also participated
in the information campaigns after the law
came into effect), but none of the interviewees
has used the parental leave. The majority
of the group (60%) declares that they "might"
use it in the future, a small group (8%)
says they want to use it, while some frankly
admit that they have never thought about
it. The information gathered confirms what
was found in recent surveys on the use of
parental leaves by fathers conducted by
the Council on Equality of the Province
of Milan: most of the interviewees –
given a widespread knowledge of the law
and awareness of the new provisions regarding
parental leave for fathers – stated
that they had decided together with their
partner that she would be the one who would
take care of the children
PERSONAL AND
FAMILY WELL-BEING
After
surveying the behaviors in the last section
of the Fidapa questionnaires we chose to
ask some more direct questions to the interviewees
regarding the perceived quality of life/satisfaction
and their own willingness and capacity to
share with a partner in their responsibilities
and childcare tasks. This had to include
a consideration of the male reference score
system and it allowed us to thoroughly examine
the commonplaces and stereotypes connected
to the relationship between male work and
parenthood which in fact also affects the
sphere of women.
Sixty-eight
percent of the interviewees said they were
fairly or quite satisfied with how they
reconcile their needs with their work hours;
32% was not very satisfied or totally unsatisfied.
From
interviews of Escaler in
Girona, the level of satisfaction is on
average higher than in other cases: 15 fathers
out of 20, making up 75% of the sample,
say they are quite satisfied; 4 are not
very satisfied and one is unsatisfied. The
presumed satisfaction of the partner is
in one case very high and in 8 cases low.
Most women (11 cases out of 20) are described
as "quite satisfied".
If
we examine the reasons for this
scarce satisfaction declared for
the men and women on the Fidapa questionnaires,
the absolute highest score is found under
the item "Excessively long work hours",
with reference to the interviewees. The
same point appears less significant for
the female partner; quite high scores for
both are found under the item "Burden
of workload" but for the most part
problems of time are what worry our interviewees.
They complain about having difficulty managing
their time and unforeseen events. In another
question using a scale to indicate their
level of satisfaction and personal well-being
they prioritized time for taking care of
their children, educating them and playing
with them .
Quite high scores on the same items were
given by the fathers interviewed regarding
the expectations of their partners. The
score they gave to the item "Time to
be with my wife/partner" was also significant,
and appears very similar to the mirror-like
response regarding the presumed idea women
should have (in the mentality of interviewees)
regarding time to dedicate to the couple.
From
the point of view of scores it
appears that the family income remains a
mainly male responsibility and taking care
of the household is mainly a female task.
This is highlighted by the high scores given
by men to the item "They provide the
family income" (90% of the interviewees
gives the highest possible score to this
item) with men having 21 more percent points
than women for that item. Under the item
"They take care of the household"
the opposite occurs, with 90% of the interviewees
giving the highest score possible to women,
resulting in women having 32 percent points
more than men for that item.
More consistent answers, with scores above
80% were seen in the item "They create
a good family climate" and "They
exercise authority and control": the
model of women that the interviewees have
in mind is certainly that of the caregiver.
Still regarding the question of scores,
the lack of time for oneself, one's hobbies
and interests is seen as a reason for lack
of satisfaction only by men because the
women give it a much lower score: in the
male imagination women take pleasure in
the activities dedicated to the family,
and leisure or extra-familiar or extra-curricular
activities are not so important to her.
Even in the responses to other questions
relative to personal satisfaction we can
deduce that the directly related variables
for men are professional success, high income,
a high degree of organizational flexibility
and the ability to have free time at his
disposal; for women this was not a priority,
at least not in the eyes of the men.
To
a direct question the majority of fathers
responded that the principal expectations
of their partners are collaboration at times
of need and joint management of the family:
a result which on the one hand would seem
to confirm the acquisition of a greater
or broader awareness by men but does not
seem to sufficiently explain why this does
not translate manifestly in the practical
sharing of tasks. In fact, according to
the scores of the new fathers, providing
family income remains a predominantly male
responsibility and taking care of the household
and raising the children is the duty of
the female. This is demonstrated also by
a scarce interest in and use of the specific
legislative instruments covering parental
leaves for caregiving.
For further information, on the
basis of 205 Fidapa interviews, we can compare
the category of men who were "very
satisfied" with the category which
were "not at all satisfied".
Those who consider themselves very satisfied
made up 10% of the sample, their ages cover
the various brackets with a median of 30-39
years, they have a middle-high education
(47% undergraduate or postgraduate degree
(33% high school diploma,19% middle school
certificate or vocational qualification).
The average number of children for these
fathers is 1.95, therefore very high with
respect to those of the other categories.
Those who were not satisfied make up only
3% of the sample and are divided in half
between the 30-39 bracket and the 40-49
bracket, they have a middle-high education
(50% undergraduate and postgraduate degrees,
16% high school diploma, 33% middle school
certificate). The average number of children
is in any case significantly high at, 1.83:
the variable in number of children does
not seem correlated with that of the satisfaction
index.
Comparing the
type of work activities of the interviewees
and their partners, the following outline
emerged:
a)
58% of the very satisfied have jobs that
allow a high degree of flexibility and a
high income (entrepreneurs, professionals,
managers) and 38% have jobs that can be
considered middle-income (clerks, artisans,
merchants).
Their partners in 19% of cases also have
a job of the first type, while the majority
(48%) are teachers, laborers or housewives
and 33% are clerks.
b) 50% of the dissatisfied ones have jobs
with middle income and in 33% have a low-income;
their partners, on the contrary, in 33%
of cases have a middle income and 50% have
a low income.
The
economic variable would seem to demonstrate
a ratio of direct proportionality regarding
the degree of satisfaction of compilers
with their jobs.
The
partners of the interviewees belonging to
both categories went back to work full-time
after maternity in 67% of the cases; 14%
of the partners of the very satisfied interviewees
left their jobs or asked for part-time hours.
Yet
if we look at the answer to the question
regarding the influence of maternity on
work, we can see a significant difference:
those who are totally satisfied in 57% of
the cases declared that the maternity did
not influence them at all, while 14% said
it had little influence, and 29% said it
had a fair or considerable amount of influence;
on the contrary, the unsatisfied in 83%
of cases thought that maternity influenced
the work situation of their partner considerably.
Moreover,
the unsatisfied in the same percentage (83%)
affirmed that their partner was not very
satisfied with how she reconciles her needs
with work hours; the very satisfied in 28%
of cases believes that the woman is not
very satisfied or not at all satisfied,
38% that she is fairly satisfied, and 34%
that she is very satisfied.
With
respect to time dedicated to work, we observe
that on average the unsatisfied men work
more than the very satisfied ones: in fact
50% of the interviewees of the first group
dedicates more than 10 hours a day to their
jobs (including travel), while only 18%
in the second group works that many hours;
in the 8 -10 hour bracket the unsatisfied
make up 33% while the very satisfied make
up 48%. Moreover, amongst the former, those
who dedicate time to leisure activities
make up only 33% (sports), while among the
very satisfied 48% have a hobby, 38% practice
sports and 33% belong to an association.
Disposing of free time for oneself, along
with not having to stay away from home for
work too many hours a day, appears to be
a variable correlated with the score attributed
to personal satisfaction.
Though
contradictory, the results of the interviews
confirm the arrival of the "new fathers",
the real novelty which has emerged in the
past few years on the scenario of sharing
caregiving tasks.
These
starting points can be interpreted as indicators
of change to be investigated in order to
delineate courses of action.
There
is no doubt that in order to promote a new
maternity culture it is also necessary to
"act" within companies and within
the world of trade unions to overcome stereotyped
cultures and organizational obstacles that
still attribute distinct boundaries to men
and women and to affirm more responsible
social practices in the relationship between
work and private life. |
