Diseguaglianze di genere e coinvolgimento paterno nella cura dei figli. Uno studio comparato di Italia e Svezia

Paternal involvement in the provision of childcare has received increasing attention in recent years and is still to the present day a widely discussed topic among scholars, researchers, and policymakers. As it has been consistently demonstrated, the role fathers play in actively engaging in childcare is of the utmost importance for several reasons. Paternal contribution to children upbringing has, indeed, multiple beneficial effects not only on the cognitive development of infants and on the relationships fathers can establish with their kids, but also on supporting a more positive family life and, last but not least, on the fostering of gender equality. Historically, the provision of care work – and of childcare in particular – has been considered a task attributed to women. Despite the persisting unequal and uneven division of care and unpaid work – which continue to wight primarily on women’s shoulders – more recently, childcare has witnessed in Europe a positive turn in fathers’ willingness, eagerness, and promptness to be greatly involved in the performance of this activity. European legislation, proper policies, and changing attitudes and beliefs about today’s meaning of being “a good father” have proved to be favorable drivers for a further facilitation of paternal involvement in the care of young children and for a better and mutually shared management of childcare within couples. The above-mentioned rise in paternal engagement in childcare has not, however, taken place at the same pace, nor with the same results, in all European countries. Substantial differences can, indeed, be found, for example, when comparing countries located in Northern and Southern Europe. Factors on both macro and micro levels play a crucial role in determining divergent outcomes in the paternal provision of childcare across European countries. By examining the Italian and Swedish cases, this research paper aims, therefore, at looking deeper into the disparity concerning the provision of childcare ensured by fathers in these two countries, and at investigating and analyzing the reasons behind it.