Men become more traditional in their attitude to child care and housework following the birth of their first baby and believe that woman’s most important role in life is being a mother, according to a study. Almost 2,000 Australian adults were asked a series of questions before and after becoming parents. Men are also less likely to subscribe to the idea that household chores should be shared equally and more likely to say that women should only work if they need the money. Social scientists believe the shift has its roots in society rather than in biology. Researcher Janeen Baxter says, “The way we organise work, parental leave arrangements, public services for children, schools and social networks create structural barriers to involve fatherhood and also encourage the traditional social construction of a women’s mothering role.”
Motherhood also affects women’s beliefs; but the results were less clear cut. For example, new mothers too, like men, support the idea that a woman’s main role is being a mother. University of Queensland researcher Janeen (CORR) Baxter says, “Despite the apparent contradiction, women also believed more strongly than they did before childbirth that working women can be just as good caregivers as stay-at-home mums. We found that new mothers become less likely than before to say that working mothers care more about their careers than their children.”
