Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 2023, 24 (1): 62-86 | DOI: 10.13060/gav.2023.008

It Takes Two to Be Equal? Middle-Class Men Managing Care and Work during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland

Ewelina Ciaputaa, Marta Warata, Ewa Krzaklewskaa
a Jagiellonian University in Kraków

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed challenges to the organisation of work and practices of care. Lockdown, the introduction of remote working in many sectors, home-schooling, and social isolation required the adoption of new strategies and solutions, resulting in the increased involvement of mothers in caring activities and the reinforcement of the cultural normativity of family. Yet some studies suggest that the share of fathers in childcare has also increased. Based on semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted as part of the ‘Men in Care’ (MiC) project with men working in international corporations (17) and their partners (7), we consider how the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland impacted men’s approach to care and parental roles. We draw on the experiences of male employees and their partners to show how the ‘interweaving’ of care and work has influenced the involvement of fathers and the division of care between partners. We examine whether the post-outbreak months, when care duties suddenly became delegated almost exclusively to parents, triggered reflections in relation to caring masculinities and challenged existing gender relations. We identified three types of fathers in our sample: task-oriented fathers, supportive fathers, and engaged fathers.

Keywords: fatherhood, caring (masculinities), organisation, COVID-19 pandemic

Received: September 8, 2022; Revised: July 18, 2023; Accepted: July 18, 2023; Published: September 6, 2023  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Ciaputa, Ewelina, Marta Warat, and Ewa Krzaklewska. 2023. "It Takes Two to Be Equal? Middle-Class Men Managing Care and Work during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland." Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 24(1):62-86.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Aguiar, J., M. Matias, A. C. Braz, F. César, S. Coimbra, M. F. Gaspar, A. M. Fontaine. 2021. Parental Burnout and the COVID-19 Pandemic: How Portuguese Parents Experienced Lockdown Measures. Family Relations 70: 927-938, https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12558. Go to original source...
    2. Alon, T., M. Doepke, J. Olmstead-Rumsey, M. Tertilt. 2020. The Impact of COVID-19 on Gender Equality. Working Paper 26947. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved 05/09/2022 (http://www.nber.org/papers/w26947). Go to original source...
    3. Andrew, A., S. Cattan, M. Costa, D.S. Farquharson, L. Kraftman, S. Krutikova, A. Phimister, A. Sevilla. 2020. How Are Mothers and Fathers Balancing Work and Family under Lockdown? IFS Briefing Note BN290. London: The Institute for Fiscal Studies. Retrieved 05/09/2022 (https://ifs.org.uk/sites/default/files/output_url_files/BN290-Mothers-and-fathers-balancing-work-and-life-under-lockdown.pdf).
    4. Anderson, E. 2009. Inclusive Masculinities: The Changing Nature of Masculinities. New York: Routledge.
    5. Axelsson, T. K., A.-C. Callerstig, L. Sandström, S. Strid. 2021. Deliverable 4.1 Qualitative Indications of Inequalities Produced by COVID-19 and Its Policy Responses. 1st Cycle Summary Report. RESISTIRE Project Outcomes. Retrieved 05/09/2022 (https://zenodo.org/record/5595815/files/D4.1_Summary%20report%20on%20qualitative%20indications%20-%20first%20cycle.pdf?download=1).
    6. Barker, G., A. Garg, B. Heilman, N. van der Gaag, R. Mehaffey. 2021. Ojcostwo na świecie 2021. Rozwiązania systemowe mające na celu osiąganie prawdziwej równości w wykonywaniu pracy opiekuńczej (Fatherhood in the world 2021. System solutions aimed at achieving true equality in caring work). Promundo-US: Fundacja Share the Care. Retrieved 05/09/2022 (https://sharethecare.pl/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ojcostwo-na-s%CC%81wiecie-2021.pdf).
    7. Cannito, M. 2019. Beyond 'Traditional' and 'New': An Attempt of Redefinition of Contemporary Fatherhoods through Discursive Practices and Practices of Care. Men and Masculinities 23 (3-4): 661-679, https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X18822684. Go to original source...
    8. CBOS. 2020a. Modele życia małżeńskiego Polaków. Komunikat z badań. Nr 157 (Marriage life models of Poles. Research communication no. 157). Warszawa: Fundacja Centrum Badania Opinii Społecznej. Retrieved 05/09/2022 (https://www.cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2020/K_157_20.PDF).
    9. CBOS. 2020b. Życie codzienne w czasach zarazy. Komunikat z badan. Nr 60 (Everyday life in times of epidemic. Research communication no. 60). Warszawa: Fundacja Centrum Badania Opinii Społecznej. Retrieved 05/09/2022 (https://www.cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2020/K_060_20.PDF).
    10. Chung, H, H. Birkett, S. Forbes, H. Seo. 2021. COVID-19, Flexible Working, and Implications for Gender Equality in the United Kingdom. Gender & Society 35 (2): 218-232, https://doi.org/10.1177/08912432211001304. Go to original source...
    11. Ciaputa, E., E. Krzaklewska. 2018. Doświadczenie równości płci w dzieciństwie - determinanty, wpływ na przemoc wobec dzieci i postawy w dorosłym życiu (Experience of gender equality in childhood - determinants, impact on child abuse and attitudes in adulthood). Pp. 73-92 in E. Krzaklewska (ed.). Równość płci i jakość życia. Wpływ równości płci na jakość życia i rozwój społeczny w Polsce. Kraków: WUJ.
    12. Cibin, R., T. Stöckelová, M. Linková. 2021. Deliverable 2.1. Summary Report on Mapping Cycle 1. RESISTIRE Project Outcomes. Retrieved 05/09/2022 (https://zenodo.org/record/6536060/files/D2.2_RESISTIRE_Summary_Report_mapping_cycle_2.pdf?download=1).
    13. Craig, L., B. Churchill. 2021. Dual-Earner Parent Couples' Work and Care During COVID-19. Gender Work Organization 28 (S1): 66-79, https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12497. Go to original source...
    14. Crompton, R. 2006. Employment and the Family. The Reconfiguration of Work and Family Life in Contemporary Societies. Cambridge. New York: Cambridge University Press. Go to original source...
    15. Cullen, P., M. Murphy. 2020. Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis in Ireland: From Feminized to Feminist. Gender, Work & Organization 28 (S2): 348-365, https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12596. Go to original source...
    16. Doucet, A. 2006. Do Men Mother? Fathering, Care and Domestic Responsibility. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.
    17. Drozdowski, R, M. Frąckowiak, M. Krajewski, M. Kubacka, P. Luczys, A. Modrzyk, Ł. Rogowski, P. Rura, A. Stamm, K. Sztop-Rutkowska. 2021. Życie codzienne w czasach pandemii. Raport z trzeciego etapu badań (Everyday life in times of pandemic. Report of the third phase of research). Poznań: UAM. Retrieved 05/09/2022 (http://socjologia.amu.edu.pl/images/%C5%BBycie_codzienne_w_czasach_pandemii._Raport_z_trzeciego_etapu_bada%C5%84.pdf).
    18. Elliott, K. 2016. Caring Masculinities: Theorizing an Emerging Concept. Men and Masculinities 19 (3): 240-259, https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X15576203. Go to original source...
    19. European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. 2020. Coronavirus COVID-19 Outbreak in the EU. Fundamental Rights Implications. Country Report: Poland. Retrieved
    20. 05/09/2022 (https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/poland-report-covid-19-april-2020_en.pdf).
    21. França, T., F. Godinho, B. Padilla, M. Vicente, L. Amâncio, A. Fernandes. 2022. Having a Family Is the New Normal. Parenting in Neoliberal Academia during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Gender, Work & Organization: 1-17, https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12895. Go to original source...
    22. Fundacja Sukcesu Pisanego Szminką. 2020. Sytuacja kobiet w czasie pandemii (Women's situation during the pandemic). Warszawa: Fundacja Sukcesu Pisanego Szminką. Retrieved 05/09/2022 (https://sukcespisanyszminka.pl/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Raport-Sytuacja-Polek-w-pandemii.pdf).
    23. Fuszara, M. (ed.). 2008. Nowi mężczyźni? Zmieniające się modele męskości we współczesnej Polsce (The new men? Changing models of masculinities in contemporary Poland). Warszawa: TRIO.
    24. Gender Equality Index. 2020. Poland. Retrieved 05/09/2022 (https://eige.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/20203357_mhag20010enn_002.pdf).
    25. Guba, E. G., Y. S. Lincoln. 2009. Kontrowersje wokół paradygmatów, sprzeczności i wyłaniające się zbieżności (Paradigm controversies, contradictions and emerging convergences). Pp. 281-314 in N. K. Denzin, Y. S. Lincoln (eds.). Metody badań jakościowych Tom I. Warszawa: PWN.
    26. Hanlon, N. 2012. Masculinities, Care and Equality: Identity and Nurture in Men's Lives. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. Go to original source...
    27. Hipp, L., M. Bünning. 2021. Parenthood as a Driver of Increased Gender Inequality during COVID-19? Exploratory Evidence from Germany. European Societies 23 (sup1): S658-S673, https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2020.1833229. Go to original source...
    28. Johansson, T. 2011. The Construction of the New Father: How Middle-Class Men Become Present Fathers. International Review of Modern Sociology 37 (1): 111-126.
    29. Kato-Wallace, J., G. Barker, M. Eads, R. Levtov. 2014. Global Pathways to Men's Caregiving: Mixed Methods Findings from the International Men and Gender Equality Survey and the Men Who Care Study. Global Public Health: An International Journal for Research, Policy and Practice 9 (6): 706-722, https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2014.921829. Go to original source...
    30. Kluczyńska, U. 2015. Older Husbands as Carers: Constructions of Masculinity in Context of Care-Giving. Studia Humanistyczne AGH 14 (2): 73-94. Go to original source...
    31. Kluczyńska, U. 2017. Mężczyźni w pielęgniarstwie. W stronę męskości opiekuńczej (Men in nurse - caring masculinity). Poznań: Uniwersytet Medyczny im. Karola Marcinkowskiego w Poznaniu.
    32. Grudniewska, M. 2021. Kobiety kontra koronawirus. Jak pandemia zmieniła ich życie i pracę? Raport z badania (Women versus coronavirus. How has the pandemic changed their lives and work? Survey report). Retrieved 05/09/2022 (https://static.im-g.pl/im/6/26955/m26955216,NIEUSTRASZONA-W-PRACY-V2.pdf).
    33. Kreyenfeld, M., S. Zinn. 2021. Coronavirus and Care: How the Coronavirus Crisis Affected Fathers' Involvement in Germany. Demographic Research 44: 99-124, https://doi.org/ 10.4054/DemRes.2021.44.4. Go to original source...
    34. Krzaklewska, E., K. Slany, E. Ciaputa, B. Kowalska, A. Ratecka, B. Tobiasz-Adamczyk, M. Warat, B. Woźniak. 2016. Gender Equality and Quality of Life in Poland. A Survey
    35. Research Report. Krakow: Jagiellonian University. Retrieved 05/09/2022 (http://www.geq.socjologia.uj.edu.pl/documents/32447484/35419405/GEQ%20ENG.pdf).
    36. Latshaw, B. A. 2015. From Mopping to Mowing: Masculinity and Housework in Stay-at-Home Father Households. The Journal of Men's Studies 23 (3): 252-270, https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1060826515600880. Go to original source...
    37. Marikova, H. 2008. Caring Fathers and Gender (In)Equality? Polish Sociological Review 162: 135-152.
    38. Miles, M. B., M. Huberman. 2000. Analiza danych jakościowych (Qualitative Data Analysis). Białystok: Trans Humana.
    39. Plantenga, J., C. Remery. 2005. Reconciliation of Work and Private Life: A Comparative Review of Thirty European Countries. European Communities. Retrieved 05/09/2022 (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/J-Plantenga/publication/46675255_Reconciliation_of_Work_and_Private_Life_A_Comparative_Review_of_Thirty_European_Countries/links/00b4951dad2716658c000000/Reconciliation-of-Work-and-Private-Life-A-Comparative-Review-of-Thirty-European-Countries.pdf).
    40. Reichelt, M., K. Makovi, A. Sargsyan. 2021. The Impact of COVID-19 on Gender Inequality in the Labor Market and Gender-Role Attitudes. European Societies 23 (sup1): S228-S245, https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2020.1823010. Go to original source...
    41. Robertson, I., C. Cooper. 2011. Well-Being. Productivity and Happiness at Work. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
    42. Scambor, E., M. Hrženjak, N. Bergmann, Ø.G. Holter. 2015. Men's Share of Care for Children and Professional Care. Studia Humanistyczne AGH 14 (2): 53-72. Go to original source...
    43. Sevenhuijsen, S. 1998. Citizenship and the Ethics of Care: Feminist Considerations on Justice, Morality, and Politics. London and New York: Routledge.
    44. Share the Care Foundation. 2022. Równi w domu - równi w pracy. Przewodnik dla pracodawców i pracujących rodziców (Equal at home - equal at work. A guide for employers and working parents). Warszawa: Fundacja Share the Care. Retrieved 5/9/2022 (https://odpowiedzialnybiznes.pl/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/RAPORT_Rowni-w-domu-rowni-w-pracy_04-2022.pdf).
    45. Sikorska, M. 2009. Nowa matka, nowy ojciec, nowe dziecko: o nowym układzie sił w polskich rodzinach (New mother, new father, new child: on the new balance of power in Polish families). Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Akademickie i Profesjonalne.
    46. Slany, K., B. Woźniak. 2018. Przemoc w związkach intymnych (Violence in intimate relationships). Pp. 147-170 in E. Krzaklewska (ed.). Równość płci i jakość życia. Wpływ równości płci na jakość życia i rozwój społeczny Polsce. Kraków: WUJ.
    47. Stovell, C., F. Rosetti, L. Lionello, A. Still, R. Charafeddine, A. L. Humbert, C. Tzanakou. 2021. Deliverable 3.1. Summary Report on Mapping Quantitative Indicators - Cycle 1. RESISTIRE Project Outcomes. Retrieved 05/09/2022 (https://zenodo.org/record/5541035/files/D3.1%20RESISTIRE_Summary%20report%20on%20mappnig%20quantitiative%20indicators%20-%20cycle%201.pdf?download=1).
    48. Suwada, K. 2017. Men, Fathering and the Gender Trap. Sweden and Poland Compared. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Go to original source...
    49. Titkow, A., D. Duch-Krzystoszek, B. Budrowska. 2004. Nieodpłatna praca kobiet. Mity,realia, perspektywy (Women's unpaid work. Myths, realities, perspectives). Warszawa: Wydawnictwo IFiS PAN.
    50. Tronto, J. 2013. Caring Democracy: Markets, Equality and Justice. New York and London: New York University Press.
    51. Tronto, J. C. 1993. Moral Boundaries: A Political Argument for an Ethic of Care. New York: Routledge.
    52. UN Women. 2020. Gender-Responsive Prevention and Management of the COVID-19 Pandemic: From Emergency Response to Recovery & Resilience. A Proposal to Support over Three Million People across 20 Countries in the Response and Recovery of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Un Women. Retrieved 05/09/2022 (https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/News%20and%20events/In%20Focus/COVID-19/Gender-responsive-prevention-management-COVID19.pdf).
    53. Warat, M., E. Ciaputa, E. Krzaklewska. 2021. Men in Care. Workplace Support for Caring Masculinities. Country Report. Poland. Retrieved 05/09/2022 (https://www.men-in-care.eu/fileadmin/WWP_Network/redakteure/Projects/MiC/Benchmarking_reports/MiC_report_PL.pdf).
    54. Włodarczyk, J. 2021. Raport z badania na temat urlopu rodzicielskiego dla ojców (Survey report on parental leave for fathers). Warszawa: Fundacja Share the Care. Retrieved 05/09/2022 (https://sharethecare.pl/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Raport-z-badania_Fundacja-Share-The-Care.pdf).
    55. Wojnicka, K., U. Kluczyńska. 2015. Men and Masculinities Research in the European Dimension: Guest Editors' Introduction. Studia Humanistyczne AGH 14 (2): 7-14. Go to original source...
    56. Young, I. M. 2003. The Logic of Masculinist Protection: Reflections on the Current Security State. Journal of Women in Culture and Society 29 (1): 1-25. Go to original source...
    57. BY-NC Ewelina Ciaputa, Marta Warat, Ewa Krzaklewska, 2023.BY-NC Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 2023.

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content