Introduction

Internationally, studies have identified a contradiction between words and deeds and a lack of commitment among men to their rhetoric of more involvement in childcare (LaRossa, 1988). Scholars have referred to the puzzle that although fathers express great willingness to take a greater part in childcare, little is reported in terms of actual change (Hobson and Fahlén, 2009). In order to explain this agency gap, attention has turned towards workplaces and how lack of support for fathers taking leave might be embedded in the structure and culture of work organizations. As we saw in Chapters 6 and 9, when the father's quota was in its infancy, the interviewed men in our study expressed not only enthusiasm about having become fathers; they also had serious intentions to take an active part in childcare and to deal with hindrances at work. This chapter shows how fathers deal with the father's quota in the context of their work organizations.

The gendered character of organizations is a constraint that has received much attention in feminist research. In her classic article, Acker (1990) develops an understanding of gendered structures and processes in organizations, and discusses how working life's apparently gender-neutral ideas and routines build on unwritten implicit ideas about gender. This means that policies and practices are embedded in gendered workplace norms and expectations (Höygaard, 1997; Brandth and Kvande, 2009b). Organizations seek employees without particular gender or ethnic backgrounds, that is, ‘abstract’ or ‘ideal workers’. Terms such as ‘worker’, ‘leader’ or ‘manager’ are abstract constructions until filled with people. These abstract workers are without commitments and obligations that might disrupt their concentration on work. Accordingly, fathers’ problems with work–family balance measures are regarded as rooted in the traditional structures of gendered work organizations where practices and norms are based on the assumption that there is ‘someone else’ to take care of necessary reproduction work, expecting men to prioritize work over family.

With this in mind, we explore how father-specific parental leave policies and actively engaged fatherhood reconcile with gendered norms and structures in the workplace. From fathers’ perspectives, the chapter focuses on how the work setting facilitates or hinders fathers’ aspirations and obligation to take the father's quota