'It really freed me up ... to work': Australian mothers' experiences of living with fathers who work part-time

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dc.contributor.authorMercier, E.
dc.contributor.authorLe Couteur, A.
dc.contributor.authorDelfabbro, P.
dc.date.issued2024
dc.descriptionPublished online: 10 Oct 2024. OnlinePubl
dc.description.abstractThe literature about mothers and engaged fatherhood is expanding; however, current research focuses on breadwinner mothers living with stay-at-home fathers. Knowledge about the experiences of mothers who live with part-time working fathers is scarce. The current study focuses on Australian breadwinner mothers’ experiences within such a family arrangement. Interviews with 15 mothers were analysed with Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Two themes emerged: (1) a recurrent contrast by mothers of their experiences at work and at home (the arrangement was described as contributing to their career, but as disrupting traditional mothering) and (2) a repeated comparison by mothers between themselves and their partners in relation to work and parenting (career was suggested as more important for participants, and fathers were suggested as being better suited for child-rearing). Both themes commonly and positively presented the family arrangement as well balanced. In their talk, participants balanced the family arrangement’s flaws with its benefits. Furthermore, participants’ positioning suggested an identification to an in-group which aligned to traditional motherhood while deviating from traditional feminine norms. As societal norms shift towards greater gender equality, this study helps increase awareness of the variety of contemporary mothering practices, by reporting experiences of mothers who adopt non-traditional mothering practices.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityEric Mercier, Amanda Le Couteur and Paul Delfabbro
dc.identifier.citationCommunity, Work and Family, 2024
dc.identifier.doi10.1080/13668803.2024.2412697
dc.identifier.issn1366-8803
dc.identifier.issn1469-3615
dc.identifier.orcidMercier, E. [0000-0002-3803-7867]
dc.identifier.orcidLe Couteur, A. [0000-0001-6801-1230]
dc.identifier.orcidDelfabbro, P. [0000-0002-0466-5611]
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2440/143156
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherTaylor and Francis Group
dc.rights© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
dc.source.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2024.2412697
dc.subjectBreadwinner mothers; part-time working fathers; masculine norms; feminine norms; motherhood
dc.title'It really freed me up ... to work': Australian mothers' experiences of living with fathers who work part-time
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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