Mail untruths Pt 3: work-life balance row

The Daily Mail are at it again. In a week where they misled about the number of people at an anti-Obama rally and misled about increases in the cost of quangos, an article in today’s paper willfully misconstrues the findings of a Joseph Rowntree Foundation report.

The Mail article says:

“According to a major study, fathers should be the breadwinners while mothers bring up the children.

“It found that despite the flood of mothers into work, most families still hold on to the stereotype that a father’s job is to earn the money and protect the family.

“The findings of [the] research … go against the Government’s drive to get more mothers earning and to encourage fathers to stay at home looking after children.”

Although the summary of the JRF’s report, “Understanding fathering: masculinity, diversity and change,” says:

“Certain roles were still seen as predominantly the father’s responsibility, namely financial provider and protector. Economic provision still defined the father’s role and conceptions of ‘good fathering’.”

But the summary goes on to say:

“The findings of the study endorse existing and ongoing policy recommendations around supporting and promoting a better work-life balance for fathers, increased financial support for families on low incomes and increased parenting support for fathers.”