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ABC News
7 days ago
- General
- ABC News
What is passenger parenting and can it be overcome?
Parenting is an intense ride and always being the one in the driver's seat can take its toll. And having someone firmly entrenched as passenger can actually be damaging for both partners and the relationship. Recent research found that in heterosexual relationships, where it is mums most often taking the wheel, some dads can experience a phenomenon labelled "passenger parenting". The term was coined by Norma Barrett, the study's co-author and lecturer in public health and health promotion at Deakin University in Warrnambool, on the traditional lands of the Gunditjmara people in regional Victoria. She explains that while fathers are becoming increasingly engaged in daily family life, the persistence of a gendered norm means some feel on the "outskirts" when it comes to parenting decisions. And parenting alongside a passenger parent isn't easy, says Carly Dober, a psychologist and policy coordinator at the Australian Association of Psychologists. She says mothers who are carrying the lion's share of caring responsibilities because the men in their lives are not participating more may feel burdened. "It can be really stressful if you do feel you are the default parent and wearing the emotional and cognitive load of all decisions," she says. So, what can you do if you're stuck in a driver-passenger parent dynamic? And, because passenger parenting can look a lot like weaponised incompetence, we explain the difference. While some dads Ms Barrett spoke to were "happy to go with the flow" and be led by their partner, most wanted to fully share the whole experience but felt "shut out" from doing so. She says the "sidekick" parenting role often begins for practical and social reasons. For example, it's most often mothers who take time off to care for the baby. "There are physical reasons for that [being the birthing parent], and also if the baby is being breastfed then naturally it will be the mother that is going to do that," Ms Barrett says. Dads may have little to no time off before returning to work, and the parent spending the bulk of the time with the child becomes "specialised" in the gig of parenting. Ms Dober says dads might feel like they are not as equipped to do things like dress the child, how and when to feed the child, and what health appointments they need, for example. Some men in Ms Barrett's research expressed passenger parenting had a negative impact on their relationships. "They are trying to be more involved in decision making, like around caring for the baby, feeding the baby, trying to be part of it, and if struggles were arising, coming up with solutions — but not always feeling like they knew the right language or approach. Fathers can get stuck in their passenger role beyond the transition into parenthood, explains Ms Barrett, because even when mothers might return to work and the caring load should equalise, dads haven't had the same "parenting boot camp", leaving them on the backfoot. Do you feel like the passenger parent in your family? Or perhaps you're tired of always being the one in the driver's seat. Share with us at lifestyle@ Ms Dober says while some women may be happy to take a leadership role in parenting, others may feel there is a pressure to be the "expert parent". Whether it's a role they are comfortable with or not, it can be a difficult one to fulfil, with consequences for their wellbeing, career, and financial future. If current working patterns continue, the average 25-year-old woman today who goes on to have one child can expect to make $2 million less in lifetime earnings compared to the average 25-year-old man who also becomes a parent. Research also shows twice as many women as men experience parental burnout, due to the fact women still carry 70 per cent of the family mental load. "There are so many micro decisions in the day-to-day of parenting that really do add up — an infinite amount of decision to make," Ms Dober says. The relationship can be impacted if women feel they aren't supported, she says. "There might be resentment if you perceive your passenger parent is just deferring to you because they can't be bothered or prefer you managing it." In intimate partner relationships, weaponised incompetence is often evident in the division of domestic tasks and caring labour. It is when someone "demonstrates helplessness, real or false, in order to avoid certain tasks or responsibility, thus making other people [often their partner and/or co-parent] feel they have to step in and do it for them," Ms Dober told us for a previous article. What makes passenger parenting different is intent, she explains. "Weaponised incompetence is when you might be trying to gain more spare time to rest, socialise, or just tend to your own needs versus those of the family. "Passenger parenting is feeling like you have less agency. There isn't malicious intent — although it can look the same depending on some behaviours." Ms Dober says passenger parents will feel like they are missing out on something, and can "take a beating to their self-esteem". Parenting expert and dad to six daughters Justin Coulson says while some dads are "happy to take a back seat", in his experience, men overwhelmingly want to be more involved. While there are societal and structural barriers to reaching equality in co-parenting relationships, such as making it more viable for dads to take parental leave, there are some ways individuals can work towards improvement. Dr Coulson recommends couples have weekly check-ins. "On a Sunday morning when things are relatively quiet, my wife and I sit down and ask three questions. First, 'What's going well?' And we just take a minute to bask in the sunshine of success." Secondly, they ask "What hasn't worked this week?" "It's not a finger-pointing exercise, rather saying 'I've struggled here', of 'I could have done with more support on Wednesday night when three things were happening at once'," Dr Coulson says as an example. Lastly, "What could we work on this week?" "And the critical part of that is put together a plan to make that happen," he says. While Ms Barrett's research recommended couples have conversations early on about their parenting expectations, Ms Dober says those can change over time. She says parents can regularly touch base on what they would like to do more, or less of. For dads who feel like they don't have agency, that might be expressing what they would like to have more expertise in, or what challenges they think could benefit them in learning to do more? Ms Dober says parents need to be kind to themselves, and each other. "Understanding that parenting is hard — you're both on this journey together, and figuring out what parenting looks like for your family. "And that might be different to others, and to how you grew up."
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
47 Things Extremely Fragile Men Refused To Do Because They Considered Them "Too Girly"
Reddit user freddyfazbart recently asked, "What's the most ridiculous thing you heard a man refuse to do because it was 'too feminine' or 'for girls'?" The god, the responses. Just read them. This woman is too stunned to speak. 1."We were camping with a group of friends, and my friend's small son was thirsty first thing in the morning, but we hadn't done dishes yet, so we only had three pink cups available. My friend wouldn't allow his son to drink water from a pink cup, so he let his son be thirsty instead." —pepcorn 2."I worked with a guy who refused to pee sitting down. I asked him, 'What about when you're taking a dump?' and he said he stands to pee first then sits to shit. He said, 'Chicks sit to pee.' I said, 'Chicks sit to shit too. Why don't you shit standing up?' and he just got angry." —Underwater_Karma 3."I dated a guy who wouldn't use luggage with wheels. He insisted on using an old duffel bag that he threw over his shoulder. 'Real men don't use suitcases with wheels.' I just laughed as I easily pulled my suitcase while he struggled with that duffel bag." —Revolutionary-Bus893 4."I worked in a hospital setting, but in the corporate office. We didn't work with the patients, but we had to be trained on safety procedures and the different hospital codes. My boss, who was a nice guy otherwise, said he would refuse to give CPR to another man in an emergency/life or death scenario, and I thought it was completely ridiculous." —bamboo_beauty 5."He wouldn't let his wife use a pink towel on his sons. My father-in-law." —Jenny-Smith 6."Some dudes think it's girly to eat an ice cream cone. That's fine, I'll have an extra one." —N3onLights7 7."OMG! Where to start? My less-than-average yet highly narcissistic ex-husband had a HUGE list of these hangups. He wouldn't use a straw, he wouldn't use an umbrella, and he wouldn't hold my purse when I went into the restroom. He said that I loved my cats because they were like 'females.' His twisted logic for this? They are called 'felines,' and mine had long hair, so 'it made them look like female cats.' Divorcing him was my best move ever, for many reasons." —Fluffy_Juggernaut_95 8."When I worked night shift stocking shelves at Target, dudes would refuse to work the feminine products aisle. Apparently, touching plastic packages full of unused paper products would contaminate them with the concept of menses. At least I got to learn about all the symbols on the packages so I could buy them for my future wife." —maester_blaster 9."DRINKING WATER. He said he 'doesn't need to drink water' and that 'men just tough it out.' This was on a blazing hot summer day when there was plenty of water to go around." —Ok-Egg-3581 10."Go on another male friend's boat with me. He said, 'Why would I, as a man, go on another man's boat?' WTF?" —Maleficent_Ad3930 11."My boss at a previous job didn't understand why none of his three children would speak to him. Then, after a coworker returned from paternity leave, he proudly proclaimed that he had never changed a diaper in his life because 'it was women's work,' and I'm guessing that's where it started." —Hanzo_The_Ninja 12."Eat vegetables. I have a coworker who doesn't eat vegetables because those are 'for women.' He looks exactly how you think he looks." —seoulmeetsbody 13."Smile in photos." —NiceFarmBud 14."When I was a waitress, a guy said no to a salt rim on a margarita because it was too girly." —LiterateSwine 15."He didn't want to take his girlfriend's cat to the vet because a man holding a cat is feminine. Shit blew my mind. Dude is a cop too, by the way." —Myothercarisawalrus Related: "That Sentence Sat In My Head For Months": Men Are Revealing The Most Hurtful Things A Woman Can Say To Them, And It's Actually Fascinating 16."I once heard someone say that when he gets married and has a kid, he won't hold the kid while walking the streets with his wife, even if his wife wants to do something, because 'that's the mom's job.' I was SPEECHLESS." —Amazing-Parking8929 17."I had an ex tell me guys couldn't sit next to each other in a movie theater. They had to leave an empty seat in between. Dumbest shit I've ever heard." —Motor_Patience5186 18."Cook food for himself. Dude lived with his mom until he got married. When he divorced, he moved back in with his mom until he eventually married my mom. He's never cooked a single dinner in his life. Oh, wait — except on the grill. Can't expect a woman to understand how a grill works, after all. That would be as wild as thinking a man could learn to use the stove." —RunningRunnerRun 19."Dance. He literally said, 'No, I don't dance. Only women and gays dance.'" —untanglingfire 20."Writing poetry in English class. This dude refused the assignment and said poetry was for girls. Some of the greatest poets of all time were men. WTF?" —will_write_for_tacos 21."My ex was super offended when I gave him bath foam and salts for his birthday. He loved taking long baths. He said it would be okay for him to gift them to me for us to use together, but not the other way around." —Mila_muc 22."I used to work at a craft shop. Men would stand outside in the 90+ degree heat, no seats or shade, rather than come into a 'girl store.' Heatstroke is manly, I guess." —cantantantelope 23."I had a conversation with a guy once where he said he has to cut bananas up to eat them because they're too phallic-shaped. I was like, 'You shouldn't have to prove your sexuality this hard. If you were really straight, you wouldn't have to prove it to anyone.' He did not like that." —littlemybb 24."Dishes. Yup, you heard that right." —Bloodstone84 Related: Here Are 50 Pictures That Make Me Grin Uncontrollably No Matter How Many Times I've Seen Them, In Case You Need Them 25."Using creamer in coffee. 'That's female,' he said in the work breakroom. I picked up the creamer, flipped it upside down, and showed it to him. 'Nope, no genitals here! You're safe to drink!' He didn't think it was funny." —pikupr 26."Push a pram with his own baby in it." —PeacefulWild 27."I worked with a dude who refused to play games with women protagonists." —TheLordFool 28."He wouldn't let his son hand out Valentines at preschool." —CaterpillarKey7485 29."My boss and I used to use the same type of Bic mechanical pencil, and we'd each get variety packs. The variety packs had different colored clips on each black pencil. Every time he found a pink, purple, or light blue clipped pencil on his desk (or in his hand!), he would say, 'I think this is yours.' If he saw me using a green, yellow, or red clipped pencil, he would say, 'Is that my pencil?'" —TunedMassDamsel 30."A friend of mine refuses to use a paint roller because it's a 'girl's tool.' A man only uses a paintbrush." —qberserkr 31."My father refused to eat a raspberry cupcake because the berries had turned the icing pink." —Cptbanshee 32."In the hospital, I once saw a guy over 80 who just had serious leg surgery refuse to use a bedpan, and refused to sit on the toilet even though he couldn't stand. Instead, he had his wife come in and hold him up while he took a piss. All because he didn't want to sit down. His aim was about as good as you think it might be in that situation." —Whargod 33."Bartender here. The number of men who refuse to drink out of a martini glass is infuriating. If it's man enough for James Bond, it's man enough for you, Steve." —PhobosTheClown 34."A previous friend of mine was bitching and moaning the whole time he was a passenger in my car because he couldn't accept not being the driver. He said it was emasculating to be driven around, and only girls should be passengers. Yada, yada... I couldn't believe he harbored such thoughts, and thought sharing this with me was fine. I just looked forward and said, 'Okay.'" —PM_ME_A_NUMBER_1TO10 35."Use conditioner in his hair. His really long, dry AF hair." —Due-Definition262 36."Use Chapstick, because it's basically lip gloss. His poor wife. It must be like kissing a Scrub Daddy." —Negative_Put_9881 37."Wipe his ass. 💩" —R3ZNR3ZNR3ZN 38."I work in a call center. One of my colleagues refuses to learn touch typing because it's girly. It's painful watching him type notes into his computer." —Machine_Terrible 39."Eat quiche. Apparently, 'real men don't eat quiche.'" —KE55 40."My cousin wouldn't let his toddler son sit in a pink chair." —Tired-Fussy 41."I know someone who refuses to wear beige and most lighter colors because he thinks they're too feminine." —Crimsonandclov3rr 42."Clean a restroom. Apparently, 'a woman looks better cleaning a restroom.' What does that even mean?" —UndoFuta 43."Back when I worked retail, a male cashier refused to ring up feminine hygiene products. He would make one of the female baggers scan it for him. You would have thought he was being asked to pick up used tampons!" —rose-ramos 44."I was at a party recently with a pile of different colored plates to serve yourself some party food. Three separate men went searching through the pile for 'non-girly' colored plates. One even said he wouldn't use orange because it was too 'girly.'" —Shazooney 45."Asking for a receipt. I hear this a bunch while working retail, and I am just baffled. It's 'too girly' to try to be financially responsible, apparently." —the_storm_shit 46."Wear a hard hat in an active construction zone. It was such a struggle at certain sites (Texas) at my former company." —morematcha "Skincare. I dated someone who worked construction outdoors. A real beer drinking, cigar smoking man's man. His skin was turning into leather, but he refused to moisturize or clean it properly. One day, I forcefully implemented an at-home self-care spa day for him: mud mask, exfoliation, cleanse, sheet mask, serums, cold eye packs, and moisturizer. He had half of Sephora on his face. Afterwards, he was radiant. He said he felt pretty and liked how nice it smelled. They don't know until they know. Once, while shopping at a drug store, I caught him looking at a bottle and saying, 'Oooh, it exfoliates and smells like pineapple, I like that! I'm gonna get this!'" —cawfytawk What's the most ridiculous thing a man's ever refused to do because he deemed it "too feminine"? Tell us in the comments or share anonymously using this form. Also in Internet Finds: Holy Crap, I Can't Stop Laughing At These 28 Painfully Awkward And Embarrassing Conversations Also in Internet Finds: I Need To Call My Doc For A New Inhaler After Cackling So Hard At These 41 Funny Tweets From The Week Also in Internet Finds: People Are Sharing How What Happened In Vegas Did NOT Stay In Vegas, And This Should Be A Lesson To Never Go To A Bachelor/Bachelorette Party There
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
What are the 20 most controversial album covers of all time?
Content warning: This article contains images which some readers may find offensive. If you're a music lover and enjoy a bit of drama, you must have heard that controversy is brewing over the artwork of Sabrina Carpenter's upcoming album 'Man's Best Friend'. The suggestive – but hardly sexually explicit - cover features the buzzy 'Espresso' hitmaker on her knees in front of a faceless man who is pulling her hair back. And the release of the image has caused much debate. Many argue that Carpenter's MO has always been pop-horniness, and that she has every right to express herself and her sexuality – in this case what some may perceive as a submissive kink - in any way she sees fit and crucially, without being policed or harassed; others see this image as degrading, regressive and promoting traditional gender roles. At the end of the day, it's her album cover and can't we just let her be? Some hyper-conservative and hyper-progressive corners of the internet clearly disagree, and the reactions have been intense – which is hardly surprising, considering sexuality has always rubbed some people up the wrong way. Plus, scandal is hardly new for musicians, as artists have sparked outrage with their album covers for decades, leading some to be censored or even banned. From nudity to the open courting of outrage via political statements (and sometimes, downright poor taste), here are 20 provocative covers that rocked the music world and faced the most backlash. We proceed chronologically. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Euronews Culture (@euronewsculture) While hardly controversial compared to some of the other covers in this list, that's a downright unfortunate title to go with this image. And isn't the one on the right an uncanny dead ringer for a young Stephen Fry? Unsettling. It's not one of the Fab Four's most famous albums, but certainly their most notorious. Photographer Robert Whitaker took a snap of the band in white butcher's coats, surrounded by raw meat and dismembered baby dolls. Paul McCartney claimed it was a comment against the Vietnam War. US retailers were shocked and refused to stock the album, leading to it being withdrawn and reissued with a more vanilla alternative. Today, the 'Butcher cover' is available in pirated form. Those lucky enough to own an original pressing have an expensive and coveted piece of music history. The cover for the avant-garde 'Two Virgins' captures John Lennon and Yoko Ono completely naked. It sparked outrage, leading distributors to clandestinely sell the album wrapped in brown paper bags. At the end of the 1960s, Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker founded a supergroup with Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. They released only one album together, and to mark the occasion, they enlisted photographer Bob Seidemann. His image features a young topless girl holding a model spaceship. The image was considered deeply problematic and was promptly banned and replaced with a more classic shot of the band members. The Stones have had several album cover controversies over the years, including 'Beggar's Banquet''s artwork which featured a graffiti covered bathroom wall. However, it's the band's ninth studio album, designed by Andy Warhol, matched with its inuendo-heavy title, which rubbed censors up the wrong way. It features a suggestive denim-clad crotch and the original pressing of the LP also had a working fly which unzipped to reveal white underwear. The cover was famously banned in Spain, which was under the fascist rule of General Franco at the time. Photographer Eric Boman's shot of Constanze Karoli and Eveline Grunwald led many US outlets to censor the image, feeling uncomfortable with the sight of scantily clad models. Thankfully, most European distributors weren't irked by the sight of lingerie. There's misguided and then there's what was going on in the minds of German rockers Scorpions in 1976. The album titled 'Virgin Killer' depicts a naked 10-year-old girl with broken glass covering her genitalia. The controversy led to a bump in sales, but it remains to this day one of the most censored album covers in music history. NB: Euronews Culture has decided to blur the image since this album cover has been deemed by many as child pornography. Sex Pistols' only studio album caused plenty of pearl clutching when it was released in 1977. A record shop owner in Nottingham, UK, was arrested for displaying the records. This led to an obscenity-related court case, as he was charged for contravening the Indecent Advertisement Act 1889. The charges were eventually dropped. All because of the word 'bollocks'. All it took was a female-led punk outfit appearing topless and covered in mud for everyone to collectively lose their minds. Considering the sheer amount of topless men on album covers, the only words that come to mind are: deal with it. With an album title like that, it was pretty obvious that the (cheeky) cover image would cause some outrage. There are no words. It's one of the most famous album covers in the world but the artwork for Nirvana's grunge masterpiece proved divisive at the time of its release. It features a photo taken by Kirk Weddle of a four-month-old nude baby named Spencer Elden. Kurt Cobain refused for it to be censored, but did state that he would agree to a sticker covering the penis, reading: 'If you're offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile.' It didn't come to that. However, several decades later, Elden attempted to sue Nirvana for violating US federal child pornography protections with the image, arguing that it resulted in 'lifelong damages'. The suit was eventually dismissed. Rap pioneer Ice Cube was no stranger to controversy, what with the headline-grabbing lyrics of N.W.A's 'Fuck Tha Police.' But with 'Death Certificate', he sparked further outrage with the image of a corpse identified as Uncle Sam. The famous rap-metal band's debut album depicts the infamous self-immolation of Vietnamese monk Thích Quảng Đức in 1963, protesting the persecution of Buddhists by South Vietnam's US-backed government. The graphic image caused outrage. Not displeased with the situation, frontman Zach de la Rocha famously burned a US flag at Woodstock '99. The question remains: Could anyone really be surprised with a name like Rage Against The Machine? Heavy metal has always been a genre that has courted controversy, and there are numerous album covers that have shocked over the years. For their 1994 album, titled 'Youthanasia', Megadeth wanted to comment on the fact that society was euthanizing the young. The visual depiction of this ended up being a woman hanging babies by their feet on her washing line. A bit on-the-nose, but it was enough to get everyone freaking out. Marilyn Manson has always pushed the envelope when it comes to taste, and the controversial rocker did just that in 2000 for the album 'Holy Wood (In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death)'. The disturbing cover depicts Manson as a crucified Christ, which led US stores to ban it completely. Considering that the controversial shock rocker's intended purpose was to critique censorship and that the previous albums 'Mechanical Animals' and 'Portrait Of An American Family' also sparked moral panic, the reaction to the artwork must have delighted him. European fans of New York rockers The Strokes were treated with the original cover of their stunning debut album, featuring a leather gloved hand on a naked hip. The US were quick to call foul, however, disapproving of the suggestive nature of the image. The band had to swap the gorgeous shot by Colin Lane – who spontaneously took a picture of his then-girlfriend after she came out of the shower. The replacement? A psychedelic but far less impactful depiction of subatomic particle tracks. In 2001, US hip-hop group The Coup, composed of Boots Riley and DJ Pam the Funktress, wanted to make a statement about destroying capitalism. Their idea: pose in front of the World Trade Center on fire. The image was conceived prior to 9/11 and the eerie timing of the album's November release meant that they had to replace the image with a martini glass on fire. Probably for the best. The cover for Ted Nugent's album was pulled before it hit shelves - and considering the misogynist credentials of this particular image, it might have been for the best. The sleeve for 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' saw a painting of a naked Kanye West being straddled by a winged female monster with sharp teeth. The controversial rapper refused for the image be pulled, but the record label reached a compromise by pixelating the image in some territories. Sabrina Carpenter's 'Man's Best Friend' is released on 29 August.
Forbes
16-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
No More Babies? Nobel Laureate's Take On Fertility Decline
Rarifying Babies (Photo by) Countries and policy-makers have been scratching their heads at the dramatic and seemingly irreversible decline in couples making babies around the globe. Most of the people doing this scratching are men. So it is helpful to have a woman take a fresh look at an issue that combines women's most intimate choices with some of the broadest historical and economic trends. And not just any woman. Claudia Goldin's unquestionable credibility as a Nobel laureate in economics is coupled with her career-long analysis of women, work and family. In her latest working paper, Babies and the Macroeconomy, Economics Nobel Laureate Claudia Goldin gives the most insightful analysis yet on the dramatic decline in babies around the world. She takes a wide-angle view on the relationship between fertility and economic development. Building on decades of research into gender, labor markets, and family dynamics, she offers a macroeconomic framework for understanding why birth rates have plummeted across much of the developed world—and why some countries (Japan, South Korea, Spain) are falling so much faster than others. Goldin's argument is simple but profound: economic growth alone does not determine fertility. Instead, it is the interplay of growth, gender norms, and cultural adaptation that shapes reproductive choices. In countries where gender roles lag behind rapid economic modernisation, fertility collapse is both steeper and more difficult to reverse. Want More Babies? Help Women Work This research extends and contextualizes the themes of Goldin's earlier work, particularly Career & Family, which traced the evolution of women's choices over the past century—from early 20th-century pioneers to post-1970s cohorts who have slowly begun to balance both career and family. While Career & Family focused on individual and institutional decisions—education, job design, and marriage dynamics—her new paper puts these micro-level trends into a global, macroeconomic perspective. The result is a compelling narrative that connects national economic trajectories with deeply personal family decisions. And it offers important insights for policy-makers and business leaders attempting to address declining birth rates, stalled gender progress, and economic sustainability in aging societies. The relative speed of economic change impacts people's ability to adapt. Goldin analyses 12 high-income countries, dividing them into two groups: In the first group, fertility declines have been relatively more gradual, supported by progressive gender norms and the development of family-friendly public policies. 'When nations develop more continuously and across a longer time frame,' writes Goldin, 'less generational conflict arises and the fertility desires of men and women are more similar.' In the second group, by contrast, birth rates fell more suddenly and deeply—sometimes below the 'lowest-low' threshold of 1.3 children per woman—with far weaker signs of recovery. It's not just the speed of change that creates the dramatic fertility drops, but the gender gaps in adapting to that change. 'It is the speed with which tradition-bound people are catapulted into modernity that gives generations little time to adapt and brings old ways into sudden conflict with the new.' They grow rich fast but hang on to 'social norms that seem out of touch with economic reality.' They create both gender and generational conflicts that become obstacles to making more babies. She says people come to their childbearing years with two sets of cultural references – the one they were born into and the one they adopt by age 20, which integrates current economic realities. And that the sum of these two attitudes may be different for men and women. For women, the two positions may cancel each other out, for men they may add up to a preference for the ways things were. 'It is not,' she adds, 'that males are inherently more traditional. Rather, they benefit more from patriarchal traditions. Women, however, see greater gains from more equal gender relationships.' Gender Role Changes - Slow And Fast There has been much debate and confusion about what is going on – or how to address it. Goldin suggests that economists were simply not equipped with the tools to analyse the phenomenon. 'The notion that the number of children declined with rising incomes had been so contrary to the Malthusian equilibrium and to usual notions of demand theory as to require new theoretical and empirical apparatus.' And it required overlapping the macro with the micro lens. Rapid economic growth in countries with entrenched patriarchal norms creates a mismatch between women's massive move into education and labour markets, and the persistence of traditional expectations (and reactions) in the household. A lag in cultural keeping up you can almost feel. When institutions and cultural values fail to evolve in tandem with women's fast-changing aspirations, the result is a kind of demographic freeze: women vote with their wombs and their wallets. They delay or abandon childbearing rather than compromise their new-found autonomy or equality. These countries did not necessarily invest in public childcare, shared parental leave, or flexible work arrangements at the same pace as their economic expansion. Or with the same whole-heartedness and cultural alignment. The result was not just delayed fertility, but often permanently foregone births. This macro-level insight aligns with the argument in Career & Family, where Goldin emphasised that the unfinished revolution in gender roles—and particularly the unequal division of unpaid care work, or 'couple equity'—remains the most persistent barrier to gender balance. And that the challenge of what she calls 'greedy work', where companies ignore caregiving realities and pile on unforgiving and inflexible schedules, forces couples to make hard choices. This new paper offers compelling statistical evidence that these micro-level inequities have ripple effects that reshape national demographics and, in turn, long-term economic prospects. What, then, are the implications of Goldin's analysis for countries grappling with demographic decline, workforce shortages, and rising dependency ratios? She challenges the assumption that prosperity alone will produce demographic stability. The fertility collapse in high-income East Asian and Southern European countries suggests otherwise. Growth without gender equity—particularly in the domestic sphere—unexpectedly leads not to baby booms, but to birth dearths. She reframes gender equity policies not as social 'extras' but as core infrastructure for long-term economic sustainability. Countries that invested early in family supports—Sweden, France, Denmark—are now benefiting from the rare combination of higher fertility rates and strong female labour force participation. Those that did not are struggling to reverse declining trends, throwing around absurd-level cash incentives and pro-natal political rhetoric. This echoes the final chapters of Career & Family, where Goldin noted that achieving true equity requires a transformation in workplace structures—what she called the shift to 'temporal flexibility'—as well as broader cultural change. In economies where long hours and linear career paths remain the norm, and where caregiving remains feminized and undervalued, families struggle to find a viable equilibrium. Goldin's macro perspective invites leaders to consider demographic change as not just a statistical inevitability but as a function of values, institutions, and inter-generational justice. If younger generations are opting out of parenthood, what does that say about the economic and emotional choices they face? And what responsibilities do current policymakers, employers, and educators bear in redesigning for the future? From a business perspective, the lessons are equally clear. Employers can no longer assume a steady pipeline of young workers, nor can they ignore the structural barriers that push talented women and young parents out of management tracks during caregiving decades, typically concentrated in the thirties. Organisations that design for two-income households—offering predictable hours, parental leave, remote flexibility, and performance models based on outcomes rather than time—will not only attract more gender balanced talent but will also contribute to broader societal resilience. It will also make them more prepared for ageing workforces, many of whom share similar flexibility needs and desires as parents. In that sense, the 'quiet revolution' Goldin described in women's workforce participation needs a new chapter: one that fully integrates the realities of family life into the architecture of economics. Goldin's Babies and the Macroeconomy is both an extension and a reorientation of her groundbreaking historical work. It shifts the gaze from individual narratives to global patterns, and from policy lag to demographic consequence. Modernity, when unevenly distributed—economically advanced but socially traditional—creates sharp tensions between opportunity and reproduction – and between genders and generations. Her model predicts that in periods of rapid and sudden economic and social change 'men will want more children than will women.' The message for policymakers and business leaders is that gender equity is not a partisan or political issue—it is a cornerstone of demographic and economic sustainability. Societies that aspire to balance growth with well-being must invest in the institutions that support caregiving, recognise the full humanity of both men and women, and make time for the choices that sustain and continue life. Goldin's work is a call to action. Declining birth rates are not just a problem for future generations—they are a reflection of current failures to recognise and accompany the differing paces of cultural and economic change. America's 20th century 'Baby Boom' glorified marriage, motherhood, and the 'good wife.' Can we reverse 21st century fertility rate declines by celebrating parenthood, especially fatherhood, and changing workplace rules so fathers are not punished (or not promoted) for taking time off and requesting flexible work arrangements? Reversing the trend will require more than subsidies and slogans. It will demand a deep and sustained commitment to gender equity—in the workplace, the home, but above all, in the culture.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Woman Wonders If Working from Home Is a ‘Backward Step for Women' After Taking on More Household Tasks Than Her Husband
A woman on Mumsnet said she works from home and takes on more domestic tasks than her husband 'I am picking up most of the domestic tasks, shopping, cleaning, loading the dishwasher, cooking, running children around,' she explained of her household duties Now, she's questioning whether the WFH lifestyle is a 'backward step for women,' considering her scenarioA wife is wondering if working from home is worth all the hype. In a post on the U.K. forum Mumsnet, the woman explained how she and her husband worked from home during COVID, but now, her husband goes into the office three times a week while she goes in once a month. 'We both work full time and both have demanding jobs. When he is in the office he gets up around 8, showers and goes into the office. I am picking up most of the domestic tasks, shopping, cleaning, loading the dishwasher, cooking, running children around, etc.,' she wrote. is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! However, she added that she had noticed that working from home 'has resulted in me taking on more at home while he gets to swan about — that is a simplification but you get what I mean.' The increased workload made the wife question the WFH lifestyle. 'The more I think about it the more I think it is a backward step for women and although at times WFH is very convenient it actually means longer hours, I often start work at 6.30am, and more of the domestic tasks expected to fall on women's shoulders,' she wrote. She turned to the forum to ask if this was the 'experience of others' and if she should return to the office. Most of the users didn't think this was an issue about women, but more so an issue in her marriage. 'I think it falls to whoever is at home, not my experience that it is the woman choosing to work from home more. If you can go into the office more why don't you? And also you shouldn't be working extra hours, why would you work for free?' one commentator wrote. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Others found working from home to be beneficial. 'No, I think WFH has been liberating for many women and many couples. This does seem to be a bit more about the man you married and your domestic imbalance,' one person replied. 'For a start, what's stopping him getting up at the same time as you and getting stuck into his domestic responsibilities before he leaves for work?' Read the original article on People
