Stay-at-home fathers on the wane – In comes daddy day! Changing practices of fathering in German-speaking countries

Abstract

Our commentary brings Boyer et al.’s (2017) argument of a ‘regendering of care’ through men’s growing engagement as caregivers into a dialogue with scholarship from German-speaking countries. This literature supports Boyer et al.’s claim of a connection between labour market opportunities and stay-at-home fatherhood. However, the research from our language context also suggests that fathers who are not gainfully employed do not necessarily become primary caregivers. Furthermore, the number of stay-at-home fathers is shrinking rather than growing. In light of these findings, we suggest shifting the discussion from stay-at-home fathers to fathers as part-time workers and part-time carers. This is where we identify the potential for a subtle revolution that bears the promise of far more wide-ranging changes in the gendering of care.