So What, Who Cares (vol 1, issue 4) Coming soon to the second shift? Men.
Men, if you do more housework, you won't be sorry. Why? One study found that men who do more housework have more (and better) sex than men who are letting the missus do all the daily cleaning. Another study found that men who do housework have daughters who are more ambitious, if you measure "ambition" by "apt to pursue interests that are not stereotypically feminine."
So what? Both stories illustrate that family members don't exist in a vacuum. Their actions can affect their loved ones in very positive ways. These studies also illustrate that egalitarianism isn't something that solely benefits women -- men having more and better sex is a definite plus, yes? And, one hopes, men want their daughters to perceive their futures as limitless.
Who cares? Men, one hopes. Also, these stories should be relevant to anyone who wants to partner with a man and build a life with him.
Also, dudes: More of you want paternity leave. Younger men are entering the workforce with the (reasonable) expectation that they should have paid parental leave and a career that does not penalize them for taking time to raise a child. They're looking around the corporate landscape and seeing a stark choice: A job or a life. A rising percentage of women become the family breadwinner (15% as of 2011). Combine this with a big group of under-40 men who want to shake off the breadwinner role and be more active parents.
As a recent NPR story notes, some places already offer paternity leave. And there are long-term benefits to having paternity leave: the more active and engaged a man is during the first months of parenting, the better the long-term prospects for hands-on parenting and a happier overall household.
Despite the documented social benefits, American dads still face one enormous obstacle: Corporate America's profit-first-people-last mentality. Social scientists suspect it'll take a serious shift in the workforce -- like, say, a generation of men opting out or a high-profile CEO actually quitting to spend more time with his family -- to provide companies with the cover they need to rethink what they're asking of all their working parents.
So what? Men are sending a loud and clear message that they're not going to put up with employers who expect 24/7 dedication to the job. They're also embracing a definition of fatherhood that goes beyond "makes the money to pay for braces."
Who cares? Recruiters and HR professionals should be paying attention to the intensive thought young people have put into their life choices -- and the choices they're making regarding family. Also, ambitious policymakers can use this stuff in the long-term "paid, protected family leave" folder.
There's an economic upside to more involved fathers too -- when men thrive at home, women thrive at work.
So what? Given the rising number of female breadwinners (which is a neat trick in a country where, depending on the color of their skin, women still make 78-81 cents for every dollar a man earns), the fact that women control 2/3 of all global consumer spending, and the weak consumer spending in the U.S., giving a few American moms more purchasing power may be an economic mover in the long run.
Who cares? Two groups of people: the women who would love to go full throttle at work and can if their partner holds down the home front, and the retailers who want some of those go-getters' monies.
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Finally, your pop culture recommendation of the day: The Real Hotwives of Orlando, streaming for free on Hulu.
You don't need to be fluent in Bravo's The Real Housewives genre to appreciate the skewering of the Bravo faux-haute reality aesthetic, just as you never had to actually watch a sprawling, epic 1980s miniseries to appreciate The Spoils of Babylon earlier this year.
That said, The Spoils of Babylon has basically ruined me for ever watching Tobey Maguire in anything. This is why I made it through ten minutes of The Great Gatsby on HBO before bursting into derisive laughter and turning off the TV.
So, you know, watch the Hotwives at your peril. You may end up permanently unable to watch Bravo.