Introduction

Going beyond the approach taken in the other chapters in this book, which focus specifically on the Nordic countries, and in order to better illustrate the ‘Nordicness’ of fatherhood, this chapter compares the attitudes and behaviour among fathers in the Nordic and Southern European regions. The reason for comparing these two regions is that they represent two very different gender policy regimes: the Nordic countries (in this chapter represented by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) are often considered to represent a typical dual earner/dual carer regime, whereas the Southern European countries (in this chapter represented by Greece, Portugal and Spain) are often considered to represent a typical male breadwinner regime. The question then becomes whether the gender policies fit the attitudes: does the lack of policy development in the direction of more active fatherhood policies in the Southern European region correspond to the general perceptions among fathers in this region about gender equality in household work and caring for children? And do the Nordic fathers stand out in their perceptions about such matters? Another question is if the fathers’ attitudes correspond to their practices.

The analysis is based on an extensive cross-country data set collected within the framework of the European Social Survey (ESS) 2004. Results show that the dual earner/dual carer regime fathers are more involved in both housework and childcare than the male breadwinner regime fathers. There is a correspondence between statements about which role fathers should play and how they actually become involved in family life, and fathers’ attitudes towards family responsibilities explain some of the differences between gender policy regimes regarding the actual involvement of fathers in housework and childcare.

The chapter is structured as follows. First, there is a presentation of the general goals within the European Union (EU) to strengthen policies for equal opportunities and responsibilities for mothers and fathers and what has been introduced. This part also discusses differences in this respect between different parts of Europe, and explains why the Nordic countries and countries in Southern Europe can be considered as opposites regarding types of gender policy regimes, and that this fact may have a varying influence on fathers’ attitudes and behaviour.