Working Fathers Mini-series. Ep 3 - Are Fathers Free?

The HPS Podcast - Conversations from History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science

We are pleased to bring you a special five episode podcast series created by Professor in HPS Cordelia Fine, political philosopher Associate Professor Dan Halliday, social psychologist, Dr Melissa Wheeler and historian Dr Annabelle Baldwin.
The series is called Working Fathers, and explores the varied roles fathers play in contemporary Australia and how policy can better recognise, value and support them.

How much freedom do fathers have? Do fathers have real choices about how to divide their time between paid work and caring for the kids at home? Where do government and organisational policies fit in?
One of the major societal changes of the past century has been the rise of female employment, particularly in the peak child rearing years. Over the same period, there has been much less change in men’s employment rates. Why hasn’t the rise in women’s employment been accompanied by a drop in men’s employment? Why is part-time work still so much less common among men than it is among women? One answer is that these patterns are just the product of free choices. But choices are never made in a vacuum, and freedom of choice comes in degrees. In this episode, we look at the laws, policies, and organisational practices that constrain dads’ choices.
Special guests for this episode are:

• Dr Carla Pascoe Leahy, Honorary Fellow at the University of Melbourne, Lecturer in Family History at the University of Tasmania.
• Professor Leah Ruppanner, Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of The Future of Work Lab at the University of Melbourne.
• Professor Miranda Stewart, Professor of Law at the University of Melbourne and Fellow at the Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.

A full transcript of the episode is coming soon.
The Working Fathers Podcast was funded by the Faculty of Arts and the School of Historical & Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne. The creators of the podcast are also very grateful for the support of external partners, the Women’s Leadership Institute of Australia and the Trawalla Foundation.

Thanks for listening to The HPS Podcast with your current hosts, Samara Greenwood and Carmelina Contarino. You can find more about us on our blog, website, bluesky, twitter, instagram and facebook feeds. This podcast would not be possible without the support of School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne.
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