One of the factors that perpetuates gender inequality is the inequitable division of household labor, and particularly the division of childcare labor. Even when women are employed outside the home, many remain primarily responsible for household duties and childcare. There is little research on the household division of labor and childcare in lead-dad households. I use the term “lead dad” to refer to a father, with or without an outside job, who takes primary responsibility for the household and children. This research explores how different lead-dad households operate, examining how two types of lead-dad households handle childcare and household chores, and what this means for the mother's domestic workload. From interviews with married or cohabitating heterosexual parents of children under five where fathers do most of the childcare, I find that lead-dad households come in two forms: some dads do-it-all and some do not (daytime dads). The key difference between do-it-all dads and daytime dads is that do-it-all dads take care of almost all household chores and childcare. Meanwhile, daytime dads' primary focus is on taking care of the kids while mom is at work. However, even in households where dads “do it all,” moms are still heavily involved in the cognitive labor required to operate a household (e.g., planning playdates and scheduling summer camps). These findings have important implications for the study of the household division of labor and parenting expectations of mothers and fathers, exemplifying how gendered expectations do not necessarily swap when lead-parent roles are reversed.

中文翻译：

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日间爸爸和全能爸爸：了解主导爸爸家庭

造成性别不平等长期存在的因素之一是家庭劳动的不公平分工，特别是育儿劳动的分工。即使妇女在外面工作，许多妇女仍然主要负责家务和照顾孩子。关于主导爸爸家庭的家庭分工和育儿问题的研究很少。我用“主导爸爸”这个词来指代对家庭和孩子负有主要责任的父亲，无论是否有外出工作。本研究探讨了不同的主导爸爸家庭的运作方式，研究了两种类型的主导爸爸家庭如何处理育儿和家务，以及这对母亲的家务工作量意味着什么。通过对五岁以下儿童的已婚或同居异性父母的采访，其中父亲承担了大部分育儿工作，我发现主导爸爸家庭有两种形式：有些爸爸包办一切，有些则不包办（日间爸爸）。全能爸爸和日间爸爸之间的主要区别在于，全能爸爸负责几乎所有的家务和育儿工作。与此同时，白天爸爸的主要精力是在妈妈工作时照顾孩子。然而，即使在爸爸“包办一切”的家庭中，妈妈们仍然大量参与经营家庭所需的认知劳动（例如，计划玩耍日期和安排夏令营）。这些发现对于研究家庭分工和母亲和父亲的养育期望具有重要意义，举例说明了当主要父母角色互换时，性别期望并不一定会互换。