6. The Barriers to Equal Parenting with Dr. Laura Radcliffe

“Most work-family policies and the whole way work is set up is still based on a really outdated model of what a family is.” In this episode I talk to Dr Laura Radcliffe, Senior Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour at the University of Liverpool and author of many research papers on the topic of parenting and work-life balance. Together we published the Business in the Community Equal Lives: Parenthood and Caring in the Workplace Report in 2018, where we shed light on the barriers men face to get more involved in their caring roles. We discuss what fundamental changes society and organisations need to embrace to achieve more gender equality and explore topics like maternal gatekeeping and the importance of making male caring visible at work. We talk about the relationship between equal parenting and wellbeing, as well as the impact of work-family conflict for both. Laura also gives us an interesting preview into her current research project, due to be published this year, where she studies single parents at work as well as blended families. We hear how 1 in 4 families are single parents, 90% of them women and how the current system fails them as they struggle to fulfil society’s expectations. The norms of being a good worker and a good mother at the same time are completely opposite to each other and therefore unobtainable. Maybe the global pandemic and its profound implications on how we work has been a reset and started the momentum for a fundamental change so employment and wellbeing can be possible for anyone with caring roles? Show links: Laura’s University of Liverpool Page Laura’s Linkedin Profile Find her on Twitter @laurasue888