The book compares fatherhood in Poland and Sweden.

What is it about?

This book provides an account of fatherhood and changing parental roles in Sweden and Poland. It uses a comparative perspective to show what men understand a father’s role to be, and how they seek to live up to it. Fathering, the author argues, is a social phenomenon grounded in cultural patterns of parenting, gender roles and models of masculinity, and also shaped by family policy. Being a father today, she demonstrates, is longer connected solely with being the main breadwinner. Rather, it has become increasingly common for fathers to take on duties traditionally regarded as the domain of women. This means that men often face conflicting expectations based on different models of fatherhood.

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Why is it important?

The problem is important, since without making men more engaged in the family sphere it is not possible to achieve actual gender equality. It is not enough to make women more engaged in the public sphere. Women should also be freed from a double burden, which results from labour market obligations and domestic and care tasks.

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