UC Merced

One of the factors which perpetuates gender inequality is the inequitable division of household labor, and particularly the division of child caretaking labor. Even when women are employed outside the home, many remain primarily responsible for household duties and child caretaking. This research utilizes individual interviews (N=40) with heterosexual, married or cohabitating parents of children 5 and under where fathers do the majority of child caretaking. I explore how lead-dad households are similar to and different from those with a traditional lead-mother arrangement, as well as what motivates lead-father families to choose this arrangement, and how they explain it to others. This project also considers the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on lead-dad households and whether it has disrupted household roles in these families. This project uses atypical or negative cases to better understand the issue of gender identity of both mothers and fathers in atypical households.