Q+A: Questions on fathering for a genius demographer
demography
By Sharon McLeod
I had the pleasure of spending my morning with a genius from our nation’s capital. Pascale Beaupre is a demographer, researcher and senior member of the Social and Aboriginal Division of Statistics Canada and the lead author of a ground breaking piece entitled Making Fathers Count.
Demography is a branch of sociology that looks at statistics from a population point of view. I ask her how demographers are married to statisticians? With her quick wit she adds, “They can be divorced from them as well.” Demographers, Ms. Beaupre says, “bring context to the numbers, trying to make them meaningful and comprehensive to the population so they can relate to the events.”
Our question and answer period adds depth to my understanding and hopefully lends perspective to the issues germane to contemporary fathering in Canada.
Q. Why has social research had such a long-standing preoccupation with the experiences of mothers?
A. That’s a good question. In all literature I’ve consulted in sociology and demography, it has to do with mothers being caretakers and men confined to the more traditional role of breadwinner, so parenthood has traditionally been examined through the mother’s perspective. People think it’s time we look at mothers and fathers individually, not to compare them, but understand how different they can be.
What prompted Statistics Canada to author Making fathers “count?”
“It was not personal; I attended a conference put on by Father Involvement Research Alliance. It was emphasized that there was need for more detailed data on fathers.” They wanted a general picture, requiring stats as simple ”how many fathers are there? I guess we can do that being at Statistics Canada.” The census has limitations as it “depends on how people declare themselves on the form… “Step fathers are not identified and fathers not residing with their children are just not counted so we thought this is a good opportunity to promote survey data because we do interview fathers and mothers, and with those numbers, we can put them in context” accounting for transitional factors.
What do changes in the profiles of fathers nationally reveal?
Working on that data, that kind of information was not necessarily new to me. We now that all these trends, namely “marital dissolution, common law being more popular and women entering the labor force.” We knew more traditional families were declining; however this is a “descriptive study. The data reveals there are emerging kinds of families.” Assumptions confirmed included the idea that fathering was also about women coming to relationships with their children and men assuming a fatherhood role and often having children in that union later. There can be implications with new family forms… as it can change the role of the father. Variables for consideration include age, relationship status, and the age of the father at the birth of the child. Social research has to “compliment the work we do here at Statistics Canada.” The dynamic of the new child, which is a birth child, introduces complexities and dynamics to fathering…and child development, health and social capital factors could shift.
How are fathers domestically different based on your results?
“There is an increase in the proportion of fathers living part-time with their children and no decrease of those living full-time.” Overall, there are fewer men not living with their children, they want to be involved. “Men are fighting more for custody and courts are more considerate of what men have to say and how they want to be involved.”
Men want and need to be taken seriously.
I ask for examples? The man in Montreal who dressed up as Spiderman whenever he disagreed with court rulings – that kind of negative media attention is not good. Women are no longer default winners in custody cases. Vetting and thoroughness in the legal process serves children well. Favourable outcomes include access and shared parenting, in the end for some children it means more time with dad.
What role should statisticians play shaping awareness about fatherhood?
“For one, now we know that not all fathers are doing well. It’s important not to look at fathers as a homogenous group, but at the characteristics that better define their needs.” ”Teenage fathers at this point, are not doing as good as what the literature refers to as intact fathers – “I’m not too crazy about the term intact.” There is room to focus on involvement; time spent on childcare, the effects of fatherhood on men’s general well-being and personal development. Research confirms that fathers are better off than non-fathers.
Given that the average age of Canadian fathers exceeds 40-years-old, what are the implications of late fatherhood?
While postponement is informed by choice and often equals improved socio-economic realities, there are reasons and implications. In Canada men leave home later than their female counterparts. The impact might be on their relationship with their children, essentially, how will fathers in their 40s relate to their children now and as they age? Fertility rates in Canada have declined since the 1980s in part because people are waiting. It is the job of social research to explore, and evaluate deferment…for some it may reflect feelings of uncertainty.
Can you expand on the major social and economic shifts that inform our understanding of how fathering has changed?
The discussion has to focus on “different types of fathers. Lone fathers earn less and have older children.” What this means for us as a country is there is more diversity than we think…The way people live their lives is more flexible, but, we may need to evaluate any related consequences. The difficult piece is going to be “how programs are developed and implemented.” Lone fathers are still doing better than lone mothers and the numbers confirm, “nine of ten lone fathers are employed, maybe it’s because they feel they have to be more responsible in their traditional role as breadwinners … I can’t say they spend more time at work than women would.” Ultimately fathers have better employment status than men who don’t father, and that, is confirmation that having a child creates, in most cases, obligations to provide.
