Australian Study Exposes Generational Divide in Parenting Attitudes
New research from Australia has uncovered a striking generational divide in attitudes toward parenting and gender roles, with younger fathers more likely to cling to traditional views that position men as primary earners and women as caregivers. The Australian State of the World’s Fathers report, based on a global survey of 8,000 parents including 533 from Australia, found that 72% of Gen Z fathers, aged 18 to 28, believe a father’s sole responsibility is to provide financially for his children. This percentage drops to 61% for millennials, aged 29 to 44, and further to 57% for Gen X, aged 45 to 60.
Persistent Gender Norms Across Generations
The survey also revealed that 65% of Gen Z individuals think things are better if men do paid work and women handle care work, compared to 66% of millennials and 45% of Gen X. According to the study conducted by The Fathering Project and Western Sydney University, Australia’s millennials emerged as the most consistently traditional group across all caregiving questions. Despite shifting attitudes and a desire among fathers to be more present in their children’s lives, barriers to equality persist, including financial pressures and entrenched gender norms.
Data released in 2025 showed that Australian women spend almost twice as much time as men caring for children and relatives, even as women increasingly engage in paid work. The report authors noted that the gender pay gap can limit parents’ ability to make genuine choices about who earns and who cares. They emphasized that although many fathers aspire to be emotionally engaged caregivers, their involvement is often constrained by long work hours, inflexible employment conditions, limited access to childcare, and persistent gender norms.
Discrepancies in Perceptions of Caregiving
The survey found a significant discrepancy in how men and women perceive the division of care in their households. While 80% of men said care was split evenly, only 66% of women agreed. The authors highlighted that women often described doing the invisible coordination work, while fathers focused on more discrete tasks. This points to a care tax, where reduced work hours or stopping work entirely for caregiving impacts parents, with 90% agreeing that a four-day work week would improve work-life balance.
More than 40% of parents surveyed in Australia thought boys should not be taught domestic skills such as sewing, cooking, and cleaning. However, over 90% said that care matters as much as paid work and that men who shared care were good partners. Researchers suggested that economic pressure and discourses about threats to masculinity could be intensifying among younger men, with financial insecurity predicting stronger endorsement of traditional gender norms.
Calls for Systemic Change
Dr. Alina Ewald, a researcher at Western Sydney University involved in the project, called for changes by employers, government, health groups, and policymakers. She advocated for the introduction of flexible working and childcare support as organizational norms, normalizing fathers taking leave and working flexibly without career penalties. Recommendations include extending paid parental leave, dedicating leave for fathers, subsidizing childcare for financially insecure families, and offering father-specific support and screening for paternal postnatal depression.
Dr. James Brown, a board member of The Fathering Project, pointed to systemic failures, noting that workplace cultures can make caregiving costly for dads, leave can be limited or unclear, and support services often fail to meet fathers’ needs. He emphasized that economic conditions push families back toward gendered arrangements even when both partners desire something different, stating that the system constrains both women and men.
Personal Stories Highlight Real-World Tensions
Zac Cracknell, a father from New South Wales, shared his experience of leaving his job to start his own swimming pool business when his wife was six months pregnant. He described the tension between wanting to make money and work pulling him away from home, noting that care is shared but the pressure to provide financially still sits heavily with him. He estimated a 70-30 split, with his wife taking on more hands-on care despite working full-time. Cracknell highlighted the double-edged sword of flexibility as his own boss, balancing work-life demands while prioritizing family time.
The report underscores the need for supportive policies, such as paid parental leave and flexible work arrangements, which are associated with increased paternal caregiving and positive outcomes for mothers, families, and gender equality. As attitudes evolve, the challenge remains to address deep-seated norms and economic barriers that perpetuate traditional roles in modern parenting.
