#ShareTheWork Newsletter (02.19.20)

When parents (particularly in households with mother-father structure) equally distribute responsibilities with caregiving and domestic work, the culture in the home becomes that of #ShareTheWork. 

Friend of genEquality and Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Brigid Schulte wrote a piece for The Guardian, where she analyzed the unfair lack of time for women to focus and create; in an analysis of some of the prolific and inspiring creators and thinkers, she found that having a supportive partner was often the key to success. For women, the lack of #ShareTheWork practices in households is often a barrier to professional and creative pursuits. A #ShareTheWork culture isn't just good for women; it's better for men, too.

Sociologists Richard Petts and Chris Knoester found that children whose fathers took at least two weeks of paternity leave reported feeling closer to their fathers than children with fathers who did not take leave, nine years after birth. In research on married parents, the sociologists found that even relatively short periods of paternity leave caused couples’ divorce risk to drop and remain significantly lower for as many as six years to come. This research on American families builds on studies from Europe, where paternity leave is more common, which found that fathers are, in the long term, more likely to remain involved in parenting and to equitably #ShareTheWork (aka divide household chores) with their partners if they take time off after their children arrive.

A significant part of allowing families to truly #ShareTheWork relies on policies that reflect equal paid family leave, regardless of gender. Last week, we highlighted the Finnish government's decision to equalize paid parental leave, which inspired other companies to adopt gender-neutral parental leave - demonstrating how change can be sparked by one act of leadership. The work in ensuring gender equality at home doesn't end with the achievement of equal paid leave; HuffPost pointed out that even when men take parental leave, they're paid more, reminding us of the intersectionality of caregiving and economic justice.

Whether it's because you want a stronger marital relationship, better professional trajectory, healthier kids, or simply believe in equity and fairness, living life with a #ShareTheWork ethos is the way to go.