I was recently asked to contribute a short piece on the changing role of men in work-family for Womenetics.com, a leading website for professional women.
I don’t like to call myself an expert, but I like it when others do! (click on the pic for my essay)
While I think this was a good online conversation, I do think that Womenetics and some other contributors over-state the case of “Breadwinner Moms” If you recall, the 40% of families with a breadwinner mom statistic is misleading, as one only gets to the 40% number by cobbling together the 11% never-married single mother households (almost all of whom live below the poverty line with a median income of $17,400), the 14% single-mother-divorced households (with a median household income of about $30,000) and the 15% of dual-parent households with female breadwinners (with a median household income of $80,000). Clearly, Womenetic’s audience is in this third category. My colleagues in this conversation used the headline number without digging deeper.
Click on this screencap to see all of the contributions to this online conversation.
Aside from this point, I thought this was a very smart conversation. But most of all, I am thrilled that women’s media recognizes the importance of men’s and fathers’ issues, and I am very grateful to contribute to this discussion.
What do you think about this conversation? The changing role of dads at work and at home/ Let’s discuss in the comments section.
Like the article? Think it would make for a good facebook, reddit or twitter conversation? Then please share it using the buttons below. You can also follow the blog via email, facebook or twitter. Thanks!
Have a great weekend!