Parenting

Parenting is not at all like this: we know very little about ordinary dayto-day parenting. Parenting is extremely varied and diverse. The practice of parenting is one of great joy and pleasure for many but also involves many costs and challenges, especially for women. The presumption of motherhood and interrupted work patterns is one of the main bases for gender discrimination in the paid work place; this, in turn, is one of the keys to wider gender inequality in modern societies. In a similar way, the presumption of female mothering reflects the presumption of continuity in male work patterns through parenthood which is one of the means by which men are prevented from greater participation in parenting. In the pursuit of better parenting and greater equality, the question of whether men can or should mother needs to be addressed.