André trained as a sociologist and completed her PhD on housing policy. Shortly afterwards, she switched to the sociology of the family. “I became fascinated by men who work part-time whilst also taking on care responsibilities. What sort of men are they, I wondered. A great deal of research has been done on mothers, on how they combine work and care – the so-called ‘part-time princesses’, as they are irreverently called. But we know far less about fathers.”
André is now a renowned expert on fatherhood and is researching how fathers combine care and work. And why they still take on less care than women. How ambitious are men when it comes to care? Don’t they want to take on more care? Or are we perhaps missing the picture, and are they actually doing more in terms of care than we realise?
So? Do fathers do more than we think?
“My research shows that when fathers are at home with their children, they often do different things to mothers. Fathers are more likely to do odd jobs around the house with the children. I recognise that from my own experience. Back home, I used to help my father tinker with the car. Whereas, when we conduct research into care tasks, we often ask questions such as: do you change nappies, read to your child, or play with your child? Men are less practised in these kinds of care tasks. Caring is something we’re taught. Once men learn it, they’ll do it more often.”
Paternity and parental leave have recently been extended. Have fathers been taking on more caregiving since then?
“Over the past seven years, there have indeed been various policy changes. In 2019, paternity leave for partners was extended from two days to a full working week. In 2020, this was extended further to include five weeks of partially paid supplementary paternity leave for partners. The latest change is the Paid Parental Leave Act (2022), which stipulates that the first nine weeks of parental leave are (partially) paid.”
“To investigate whether the policy is having an effect, I conducted thirty-eight interviews, together with Nola Cammu (senior researcher Sociology at Tilburg University), with two generations of men: fathers and their adult sons, many of whom are now fathers themselves. It turned out that many of these young fathers had had a child both before and after the latest policy change. These interviews reveal that they feel much more confident in their role as fathers and have a closer bond with their child because they took longer leave.
But this does not apply to all fathers. The economics journal ESB recently published research showing that whilst the first week of paternity leave is taken up well, the five weeks of supplementary leave are taken up far less frequently, particularly among those on the lowest and highest incomes.”
Do you know why that is?
“It has to do with what we’re all used to, with societal norms. I’ve conducted research into paternity leave in the Royal Netherlands Air Force. There, all men take the additional paternity leave, whereas you wouldn’t necessarily expect that in the Ministry of Defence. A job there demands a lot from staff, and military personnel in particular are, of course, regularly on missions. The Royal Netherlands Air Force looked for ways to retain staff with children and decided to pay 100 per cent of the salary for those five weeks’ paternity leave, so that money wouldn’t be a reason to opt out. And it’s working.”
“So policy is important. You can also see that it brings about changes in society. Organisations and businesses are also looking at one another again, seeing how others are doing things. As a man, you can really be a role model.”
How are the care responsibilities divided in your household?
“Unfortunately, it’s not fifty-fifty either, just like in many other families. I think I take on sixty per cent of the care, but that’s because my husband has a demanding job. No, he’s not in the military, but he’s a primary school teacher – which is also an inflexible job.”
What’s needed to get men more involved in caregiving?
“It would be great if fathers had the same length of leave as mothers, just like in Scandinavia. That would also eliminate pregnancy discrimination. If the mother stays at home for six months first and then the father, you’d also be making the transition back to work easier for women. The Netherlands languishes at the bottom of the list when it comes to care leave. In Spain, for example, men have long been entitled to sixteen weeks’ fully paid leave, and since 2025 this has been extended even further to nineteen weeks.
“Policy affects not only how many fathers take on care responsibilities, but also how we, as a society, view this issue. The family is the cornerstone of society. So let’s ensure that both parents can be at home with the children. When fathers spend more time at home, they feel more involved. That builds confidence, and they’ll then take on more responsibilities.”
Text: Inge Mutsaers
Photo: Duncan de Fey
