Staying home with sick children, being the contact person for Plunket checks, and keeping the house clean: Pip Bennett wants to know who’s in charge of these tasks.

In fact, the Taupō-based former youth development worker – and mother of two children under five – is looking for 15 working heterosexual couples with young children for a study aimed at understanding why different things are expected of mums and dads.

“Although I have called myself a feminist since I was a kid, motherhood had never come on my radar as a feminist issue,” she said.

“My husband was very supportive of my career and shared the housework pre-kids, something about having a baby totally changed everything.”

Bennett said she felt the pressure and expectation of juggling work and childcare almost right away, not only at home but from society in general, and felt she had to be the one taking time off with a sick child, and being the contact person for things like Plunket and health checks.

“I started reading and asking others about their experiences and the more I delved into the issue, the more I realised that I wasn’t alone.

“I wanted to understand why we expect different things of mums and dads and how we could shift things so that dads not only take on more responsibility at home, but also get a real chance to be a part of whānau routines and care, especially when babies are little.”

Bennett is now almost halfway through a PhD in Design at the School of Design Innovation at Victoria University of Wellington and hopes her research will provide clarity about why couples still divide their private lives in this way, “as well as some really concrete and useful designs for ways to shift gender norms so that all parents are able to decide how they'd like to show up for their whānau”.

“We know that dads are wanting to be more involved at home, but they have a really low take-up rate of paid parental leave, are less likely to reduce work hours to contribute to care giving, or choose to be a stay at home dad.

“I'm looking to find out more about how gender norms currently limit those as viable options for dads.”

The study would only take up about four hours of a couple’s time over two or three months, during which time they would share their experiences and beliefs around gender, unpaid care, and work through three activities, including an online survey and an interactive interview.

“Lastly, we come together as a group to co-design solutions and look at what we've learned about how we in Aotearoa think straight working couples with kids should share housework and childcare.

“Then we identify and design interventions where we can make improvements for mothers in terms of reducing their workload at home, but also for dads so they can spend more time with their family.”

Bennett is looking for Taupō or Waikato-based heterosexual couples who are both working, part or full time, or on parental leave, and who have at least one child aged three or under to share their beliefs and experiences of childcare and housework.

As an added incentive, each participant will receive a koha of $100 worth of Pak'n Save vouchers.

Couples who want to take part or find out more information should email bennetphil@myvuw.ac.nz or call 022 030 4773.

Credit: Stuff.co.nz