What We Think About Fathers (and why we might think that)

COST: FREE

The role of the father, and what we believe they are and do, sits within complex, and often competing, frameworks and discourse around gender equality, public policy, masculinity and social and cultural norms, and as the role of the father in families has changed over time (and so has our understanding of his influence) , public policy and the offer to families has failed to ‘catch up’ or represent the realities of family life.

This seminar will unpick where we gain our beliefs and assumptions of fatherhood from, how true they might be and how we can quickly address them.

About the Fatherhood Institute:

The Fatherhood Institute is the UK’s fatherhood think-and-do-tank. We are a registered charity and:

• Collate, publish and mobilise international research on fathers and their impact on children and mothers
• Report on and develop approaches to engaging with fathers mainly in the health, education and family sectors
• Help shape national and local policy to ensure a father-inclusive approach
• Inject research evidence on fathers, fatherhood and co-parenting into national debates about parenting and parental roles
• Lobby for changes in law, policy and practice to dismantle barriers to UK fathers’ care of infants and children
• Help mothers and fathers in the UK and internationally balance their ‘cash and care’ responsibilities and co-operate productively as a ‘parenting team’
• Are the leading provider in the UK (and to an extent internationally) of training, consultancy and publications on father-inclusive practice

The Fatherhood Institute’s vision is a society that gives all children a strong and positive relationship with their father and any father-figures; supports both mothers and fathers as earners and carers; and prepares boys and girls for a future shared role in caring for children.