New World Trend & Cultural Shift: Is Dad the New Mom?

We are used to generations of women doing the lioness’ share of child care and housework, even if they have jobs outside the home.  Now we are seeing rise of co-parenting and cultural shifts phasing out “husband and wife” and “father and mother” and replacing them with functional roles of “spouse and parent.”  Work-family balance is no longer a women’s issue—it is now truly a “family” issue as the word intended.

According to the most recent Census report, the number of stay-at-home fathers in the United States has more than doubled in the past 10 years to 176,000.  And according to a report released by the Family and Work Institute last year, men are also experiencing work-family conflict, with 60% saying it was an issue in 2008 (up from 35% in 1977.)  That figure remained relatively flat for women (47% in 2008, 41% in 1977.)  Today’s Gen Y dads, aka millennials, spend 4+ hours per day with kids under 13, versus only 2 hours in 1977.

A similar WSJ article reported from Census that 32% of fathers with working wives routinely care for their children under age 15, up from 26% in 2002. Pew studies report that dads have tripled the amount of time they spend with their children since 1965.  Myriad of research showing increased share of household chores by men…not surprising given the increased presence of women in the workplace, right?  But the world outside of homes and inside marketing/branding meeting rooms haven’t caught up yet.

New World fathers are no longer seen as just financial providers or occasional babysitters.  They are actively engaged in their children’s daily lives and routine care and view fatherhood as a big part of their personal identities and a pride attribute of who they are as individuals.   Factors vary from job market and increasing cost of child care, to rise of women at work, blurring gender roles in the youth culture, and to a degree,  today’s men raised amid the women’s movement and perhaps absent fathers… But, no one can argue that the new world of more involved dads as full time partners in parenting has arrived and it’s here to stay.

What’s even more interesting is what Pew Research calls “breadwinner moms.”   A record 40% of all households with children under the age of 18 include mothers who are either the sole or primary source of income for the family.  The share was just 11% in 1960.  One of my continuous sound bites about The New World Marketplace is that 1/3 of Gen Y were into unwed mothers.

These “breadwinner moms” are made up of two very different groups:

1) 5.1 million (37%) are married mothers who have a higher income than their husbands, and are slightly older, disproportionally white and college educated…grown from 4% in 1960 to 15% in 2011.

2) 8.6 million (63%) are single mothers, who are younger, more likely to be black or Hispanic, less likely to have a college degree, grown from 7% to 25% during the same period.  And they are more likely to be never married than divorced/separated.

No surprises here, education has always had direct correlation to income, and unfortunately to date, correlation to race/ethnicity (but this is changing.)  Interestingly, both groups of breadwinner moms have grown in size in the past as seen by increasing work population of women.  What may be surprising to most is that the total family income is higher when the mother, not the father, is the primary breadwinner.  And married mothers are increasingly better educated than their husbands.  This is a trend most likely to escalate as we see for every 2 men graduating from college, 3 women are and with better GPAs.

What do all these cultural shifts mean to you and your businesses?

It’s simple.  Think about it.  Should diaper bags and child care materials all have pink bows and flowers on them?  Diaper Dude now sells dozens of styles of bags designed to appeal to men…grey, black, camouflage prints, even bags with baseball team logos.  Are you in the restaurant business?  Have you thought about changing tables in your men’s restrooms?  Are you in technology business?  Think of the AT&T ad showing a dad changing diapers while talking sports on his smartphone with his friend.

The new generations of parents use technology to feel connected and involved with their children.  It’s no longer just about reading the popular books on parenting, but also weekly customized e-mails from BabyCenter, apps like Contraction Timer, iPads at daycares logging activity throughout the day, watching your kids on your smartphones from your office.  Even doggie day cares allow that.  But why aren’t we seeing enough of these new world life scenarios in advertising campaigns for technology brands, specially using dads?  Working moms, hands-on dads and more involved young fathers are the new normal.  Think about that next time you are developing an ad campaign for a household product.

This type of cultural trend has significant impact on traditional paradigms and how marketers should view targeting families for products and services.

Yes… Women control 85% of consumer buying decisions.  Moms will remain a key target market for many business categories.  But what do you think appeals to women and moms?  Certainly not the old gender stereotypes.

Here are 3 simple tips to get you started:

1.  Don’t speak to mom at the exclusion of dad, unless you are targeting single mothers only …he is a trusted parenting partner.

2.  Avoid all gender stereotypes in your branding messages and strategies.  Market to shared values and needs, not gender.  Market to the inside of your customers, not outside.

2.  Don’t project your own traditional cultural paradigm in your branding strategies.  You are not your customers.  And it is The New World Marketplace, afterall.