Number of stay-at-home dads increasing: BMO study
Posted June 19, 2011 11:04 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO, On. – According to a new poll by the Bank of Montreal, a father’s role in the family is changing.
The poll found a majority of Canadian dads are staying home, based on factors like gender equality roles and women becoming top breadwinners.
More mothers now hold jobs outside the home, and the number of fathers staying home to raise the children has tripled in the last 30 years.
“About a third [of those polled] have stated that the last recession put a lot of men out of work, so it made a lot of sense for them to stay at home and raise the family,” BMO spokesperson Larry Moser said.
The results found that economic instability is responsible for this shift, and that in hard times it’s logical for women to pick up the slack.
“You’ve also got to look at benefit packages, and prospective career advancements,” Moser said. “If the woman is probably going to be promoted very shortly and start receiving a higher and higher salary, it’s just common sense that the dad should stay at home and look after the kids from a financial point of view.”
The study also found that a majority of Canadians were uncomfortable with the notion of women becoming the dominant breadwinner.
“About 65 per cent still believe it’s more socially acceptable for a women, rather than a man to stay home and take care of the family,” Moser said.
