Latest news with #MistyHeggeness
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Women dropping out of Missouri workforce is an economic red alert. Here's how to fix it
(). A recent drop in women's workforce participation is a blinking red light for women and our economy. For nearly a decade, women have driven the growth in overall prime-age labor force participation – strengthening local economies and contributing billions to GDP. The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that continuing to advance women's equality could add trillions to global GDP, boosting incomes and living standards worldwide – for men and women alike. Yet right now this progress is threatened by a multigenerational caregiving crisis—spanning both child care and elder care. Since January, over 200,000 women have exited the labor force. Experts attribute this largely to reduced workplace flexibility and persistently limited child care access. Misty Heggeness of the University of Kansas reports labor force participation for women ages 25–44 with children under five dropped from 69.7% to 66.9%. At United WE, our research confirms the toll: women are three times more likely than men to leave the workforce due to child care challenges. Sixty percent of women entrepreneurs say this barrier makes running their businesses harder, and millions live in child care deserts. But the caregiving squeeze doesn't stop there. The recent AARP and National Alliance for Caregiving 'Caregiving in the U.S. 2025' report finds that 63 million Americans—nearly one in four adults—now provide ongoing care for an adult or a child with a complex medical condition or disability, a staggering 45% increase since 2015. Many juggle both roles: one in three caregivers, and almost half of those under 50 are part of the 'sandwich generation,' caring for both kids and aging relatives. This crisis disproportionately affects women, but its consequences are felt in every corner of our economy. A study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation found states lose an average of $1 billion in economic activity each and every year due to breakdowns in child care access. One expert put it bluntly: 'The economy's basically telling half its talent to stay home.' The good news is that solutions are within reach, and even in deeply divided times, Republicans and Democrats are making common cause to make child care more affordable and accessible. In Kansas, bipartisan action under Gov. Laura Kelly's leadership is poised to create more child care slots in the next two years than the state did in the last 15 – giving thousands of parents the ability to return to work or expand their businesses. In Missouri, where more than 41% of counties do not have an accredited child care facility, legislation to help businesses offset the cost of child care won support from both parties. And a bipartisan commission appointed by Gov. Mike Kehoe is working on recommendations to streamline regulations so providers can open and operate more easily while protecting the health and safety of kids. And at the federal level, despite a polarized Congress, progress has quietly continued. The recent tax bill tripled the employer-provided child care credit, offering new incentives for businesses to support working parents. Now, parallel action is emerging for elder care—still slow, but gaining traction. Promising policy proposals include caregiver tax credits and support services, though much more is needed to meet the escalating demand. At United WE, we believe the path forward lies in research, solutions and results. That's our model for change—and it works. Today, as we approach the 105th anniversary of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to participate in our democracy, the time is now to break down this barrier to women's full participation in our economy. Suffragist J. Ellen Foster told delegates at the 1892 Republican National Convention: 'We are here to help you – and we are here to stay.' Women have more than delivered on that promise. Today, for the sake of our economy and our communities, it's time policymakers and employers to do their part as well. Solve the daily Crossword
Yomiuri Shimbun
12-08-2025
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Mothers Are Leaving the Workforce, Erasing Pandemic Gains
Working mothers, who helped drive much of the job market's post-pandemic comeback, are leaving the workforce in large numbers this year. The share of working mothers age 25 to 44 with young children has fallen nearly every month this year, dropping by nearly 3 percentage points between January and June, to the lowest level in more than three years, according to an analysis of federal data by Misty Heggeness, a professor at the University of Kansas and former principal economist at the Census Bureau. The drop has been enough to wipe out many of the gains made by working mothers after the pandemic, when remote work arrangements and flexible schedules lured many back to the labor force. But the reversal of many of those policies – with major corporations and government agencies now requiring employees to be back in the office five days a week – has had the opposite effect, Heggeness said. Sweeping federal layoffs have also been a setback for women and other caregivers, who have long relied on the government for stable and flexible employment. 'It's become harder for women, particularly those with caregiving responsibilities, to thrive in this job market,' she said, likening the moment to the 'Barbie' movie when Ken takes over the feminist land of Barbie with masculine ideals. 'It's clear that we're backsliding in the Ken-ergy economy, that the return-to-office chest pounding is having a real ripple effect.' In some cases, mothers say they are giving up jobs happily, in line with MAGA culture and the rise of the 'traditional wife' (#tradwife on social media), which celebrates women choosing conventional gender roles by focusing on children instead of careers. The Trump administration has doubled down on its message that Americans should be having more babies, with Vice President JD Vance promoting the benefits of having a parent at home, saying 'young children are clearly happier and healthier' in such arrangements. This year's pullback among mothers is part of a broader shift: Some 212,000 women over 20 have stopped working or applying for jobs since January, with particularly pronounced drops for Black women and those ages 25 to 34, Labor Department data shows. And while the unemployment rate, at 4.2 percent, remains low, the share of women in the workforce has fallen since January. In interviews with more than a dozen women who've recently left the workforce, many cited a confluence of factors – from layoffs to waning work-from-home flexibility while caring for children or aging parents. Many also noted a discernible shift in workplace attitudes, including return-to-office mandates and discarded diversity policies, that made it feel like they were less valued at work. Several said they struggled to find new work after losing their jobs and decided to go back to school instead, or stay home with their children. Almost all of the women said the decision to stop working felt uncharacteristic for them, and wasn't something they would've considered a year ago. 'Work was a big, big part of my identity, but all of these little things added up,' said Isabelle Beulaygue, 37, a sociologist in Santa Fe, New Mexico, who left her job as a university professor earlier this year to stay home with her infant. 'I was always super career-focused, but it started feeling like women were expendable at work, like they weren't really respected anymore.' There wasn't any one thing that led her to quit, she said, but rather a culmination of small changes – including a move for her husband's job, growing pressure to be in the office for long hours and worsening morale because of federal budget cuts. When she had to leave work early a few times to care for her sick baby, it was difficult to coordinate. 'Flexibility feels like a thing of the past,' she said. The pullback comes at a time when the broader labor market is cooling after years of hefty post-pandemic growth. U.S. employers added 106,000 jobs between April and July – less than one-third of jobs added in the same period last year, according to the latest Labor Department data. 'The U.S. is the only advanced economy that's had declining female labor force participation in the last 20 years, and a lot of that is because of lack of social safety net and caregiving supports,' said Kate Bahn, chief economist at the Institute for Women's Policy Research. 'It's a long-term trend that appears to be getting worse.' Although Black women are more likely to be in the workforce than White or Hispanic women, Bahn said they have been disproportionately hit by recent overhauls, including federal government cuts and the dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The labor market has slowed down considerably for all workers, but the unemployment rate for Black women over 20 has risen by nearly an entire percentage point so far this year, to 6.3 percent in July, its highest level in almost four years. After six months of job-searching, Jovanna, who was laid off from her health care copywriting job in early February, is changing course entirely. The mother of two, who is Black and lives in the Midwest, recently enrolled in a 15-week project management certification program in hopes of switching careers. 'I sent out at least 500 applications, worked with three different career coaches, and networked as much as I could,' said Jovanna, who asked to be identified by her middle name only, because she worries about jeopardizing future employment. 'I am depleting my savings and ended up having to borrow against my 401(k), so it got to the point where I had to make a bigger change.' Economists say they worry that the latest labor force departures could indicate a longer term setback for women, especially if they decide to return to work. Historically, breaks in work history have coincided with lower pay and fewer opportunities for advancement, said Heggeness of the University of Kansas. 'There are huge implications for the women themselves,' she said. 'Their lifetime earnings will be lower, they will most likely come back to a job that does not pay the salary they were making when they left. It'll be harder for them to get back in, harder to move up the ladder to senior management positions because they've had this gap in employment.' Emily Santoni left her position as a chief marketing officer at an energy consulting firm in Houston to stay home with her children, ages 1 and 3, this year. It wasn't a decision she made lightly – she and her husband spent months lining up their finances and preparing for the transition. Last year, the couple spent more than $140,000 on a full-time nanny and other child care. It was financially doable, Santoni said, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing out. 'I worked hard, I had a great career, we were both making great money,' the 39-year-old said. 'But I was working so much, there were weeks when I saw my kids for maybe 30 minutes a day. Finally it was like, 'Let's slow this down so I can be a present mother.'' Plus, her workplace was doing away with a policy that allowed parents to work from home two days a week. That wasn't a 'major deciding factor,' Santoni said, 'but it was one more thing that was like, 'Blargh, this sucks.'' Major corporations around the country, including J.P. Morgan, AT&T and Amazon, as well as large swaths of the federal government, have begun mandating that employees clock in to the office five days a week. Although enforcement has been uneven, labor economists say those requirements have added extra strain for many workers, particularly those with young children. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.) Santoni says leaving the workforce has been a refreshing change. She's spending a lot more time with her children, and is also going to more workout classes and happy hours with friends. Although it took a few months to find her rhythm, she's now encouraging other women in her circle to consider stepping back from the labor force. 'My decision to leave my corporate role had nothing to do with politics or a movement telling women to stay home. It had everything to do with what success looks like for me right now,' Santoni said. 'I've worked relentlessly since I was young, and now I choose to give my best energy to my kids while they're little. For moms choosing to leave the workforce for this same reason, it's not weakness or submission – it's power.'
Boston Globe
12-08-2025
- Automotive
- Boston Globe
FDA regulator's reinstatement sends biotech shares tumbling
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up AUTOMOTIVE Advertisement Ford rejigs EV plans after suffering billions in losses Just four years ago, Ford Motor seemed poised to give Tesla a real run for its money in electric vehicles. In 2021, the company introduced a stylish electric sport utility vehicle, the Mustang Mach-E, and quickly followed it a year later with a battery-powered version of its bestselling pickup, the F-150, and an electric van. The three new models gave Ford a jump on other established automakers like General Motors. But then the growth of electric car sales slowed and Tesla started slashing car prices. At the same time, higher material costs made it harder for established carmakers to make money on electric vehicles. Over the last 2½ years, Ford's electric vehicle division has lost $12 billion, including $2.2 billion in the first half of this year. This year, sales of its electric models have stalled, falling 12 percent in the first six months. Now, Ford has come up with a new plan. On Monday, the automaker said that it has developed new, lower-cost electric vehicle components that will allow it to sell more affordable cars. The first will be a medium-sized, four-door pickup truck that can seat five, have a front trunk in addition to its bed and have a starting price of $30,000, Ford said. That truck is expected to arrive in showrooms in 2027, while a new large electric pickup will be delayed by a year to 2028. The company also said it has developed a new manufacturing process that should also lower costs while improving quality. — NEW YORK TIMES Advertisement LABOR Mothers are leaving the workforce, erasing pandemic gains Working mothers, who helped drive much of the job market's post-pandemic comeback, are leaving the workforce in large numbers this year. The share of working mothers age 25 to 44 with young children has fallen nearly every month this year, dropping by nearly 3 percentage points between January and June, to the lowest level in more than three years, according to an analysis of federal data by Misty Heggeness, a professor at the University of Kansas and former principal economist at the Census Bureau. The drop has been enough to wipe out many of the gains made by working mothers after the pandemic, when remote work arrangements and flexible schedules lured many back to the labor force. But the reversal of many of those policies — with major corporations and government agencies now requiring employees to be back in the office five days a week — has had the opposite effect, Heggeness said. Sweeping federal layoffs have also been a setback for women and other caregivers, who have long relied on the government for stable and flexible employment. — WASHINGTON POST Advertisement CURRENCY Trump crypto firm announces $1.5 billion digital coin deal World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency startup founded last year by the Trump family, announced Monday that a publicly traded technology firm would begin buying large quantifies of its signature digital coin. The firm, a little-known tech company called ALT5 Sigma, is planning to sell $1.5 billion worth of shares, using the proceeds to buy $WLFI, a cryptocurrency created by World Liberty, the announcement said. Similar initiatives have become wildly popular in the crypto world this year, after the success of Strategy, a public tech company formerly known as MicroStrategy that has built a bitcoin stockpile worth billions of dollars. Strategy's stock price has soared in sync with the price of bitcoin, which has set a series of record highs in recent months. As part of the deal, World Liberty will receive shares in ALT5, according to securities filings, in return for $750 million worth of $WLFI coins. Eric Trump, the president's middle son, will join ALT5's board, and Zach Witkoff, a World Liberty founder and the son of President Trump's Middle East adviser, will serve as chair of the board. The deal marks the latest expansion of the Trumps' sprawling crypto empire, which has buoyed the family's finances and created sweeping conflicts of interest. Not long after starting World Liberty, Donald Trump began selling a so-called memecoin, known as $TRUMP, generating hundreds of millions of dollars for his family. His sons Eric and Donald Jr. are also involved in a separate bitcoin mining venture, American Bitcoin. At the same time that his family has invested in crypto, the president has implemented policies designed to boost the industry. — NEW YORK TIMES Advertisement LABOR Israel's biggest union declines to join general strike An attempt by Israeli hostage families to organize a nationwide strike against plans for a military takeover of Gaza was dealt a blow on Monday, when the country's main labor union declined to join in. The leader of Histadrut said he was concerned the union's involvement would divert the public discourse on the return of hostages into a political debate. The group represents 850,000 members, according to its website. 'If I knew that a strike, for even longer than one day, could stop the war and bring them home I'd have gone all in at full force,' Arnon Bar-David said after a meeting with representatives from the families. 'Unfortunately, and although my heart is bursting with anger, it's futile,' he added. Several of Israel's technology and venture capital companies have publicly voiced their support for the labor action, scheduled for Sunday, including Qumra Capital, Pitango Ltd, Ltd, and Fiverr International Ltd. Representatives of the Israel Business Forum, a group of 200 of the country's top business leaders, was present at the meeting on Monday. They stopped short of saying whether they will support the strike. — BLOOMBERG NEWS MEDIA Paramount strikes seven-year deal to stream UFC fights David Ellison has been the chair of Paramount for all of five days, but he already has something to show for it. Paramount announced Monday morning that it had struck a seven-year, $7.7 billion deal to claim exclusive streaming and broadcast rights in the United States for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The deal will go into effect next year. The agreement will give Paramount access to the full slate of UFC's 30 fight nights, along with 13 of the sport's biggest events. All of the fights will be available on the Paramount+ streaming app, and some marquee matches will also broadcast on CBS, which Paramount owns. Last week, Skydance Media, of which Ellison is founder and CEO, finally took over Paramount — the parent company of CBS, Comedy Central, and the fabled Hollywood movie studio — after more than a year spent wrangling to buy it. Sports rights have become increasingly valuable to media organizations, as they attempt to sell more subscriptions to their streaming services and to increase the amount of time people spend there. 'We think it is going to be incredibly material in terms of increasing our engagement on Paramount+, driving subscriber acquisitions and also meaningfully growing revenue across the business,' Ellison said. The new deal will replace a yearslong arrangement between UFC and ESPN, and effectively doubles the total fee the sport will take in. ESPN currently pays roughly $550 million a year for UFC coverage. — NEW YORK TIMES Advertisement
Washington Post
11-08-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Mothers are leaving the workforce, erasing pandemic gains
Working mothers, who helped drive much of the job market's post-pandemic comeback, are leaving the workforce in large numbers this year. The share of mothers ages 25 to 44 with young children in the workforce has fallen nearly every month this year, dropping by nearly 3 percentage points between January and June, to the lowest level in more than three years, according to an analysis of federal data by Misty Heggeness, a professor at the University of Kansas and former principal economist at the Census Bureau. The drop has been enough to wipe out many of the gains made by working mothers after the pandemic, when remote work arrangements and flexible schedules lured many back to the labor force. But the reversal of many of those policies — with major corporations and government agencies now requiring employees to be back in the office five days a week — has had the opposite effect, Heggeness said. Sweeping federal layoffs have also been a setback for women and other caregivers, who have long relied on the government for stable and flexible employment. 'It's become harder for women, particularly those with caregiving responsibilities, to thrive in this job market,' she said. 'It's clear that we're backsliding in the Ken-ergy economy, that the return-to-office chest pounding is having a real ripple effect.' In some cases, mothers say they are giving up jobs happily, in line with MAGA culture and the rise of the 'traditional wife' (#tradwife on social media), which celebrates women choosing conventional gender roles by focusing on children instead of careers. The Trump administration has doubled down on its message that Americans should be having more babies, with Vice President JD Vance promoting the benefits of having a parent at home, saying 'young children are clearly happier and healthier' in such arrangements. This year's pullback among mothers is part of a broader shift: Some 212,000 women over 20 have stopped working or applying for jobs since January, with particularly pronounced drops for Black women and those ages 25 to 34, Labor Department data shows. And while the unemployment rate, at 4.2 percent, remains low, the share of women in the workforce has fallen since January. In interviews with more than a dozen women who've recently left the workforce, many cited a confluence of factors — from layoffs to waning work-from-home flexibility while caring for children or aging parents. Many also noted a discernible shift in workplace attitudes, including return-to-office mandates and discarded diversity policies, that made it feel like they were less valued at work. Several said they struggled to find new work after losing their jobs and decided to go back to school instead, or stay home with their children. Almost all of the women said the decision to stop working felt uncharacteristic for them, and wasn't something they would've considered a year ago. 'Work was a big, big part of my identity, but all of these little things added up,' said Isabelle Beulaygue, 37, a sociologist in Santa Fe, New Mexico, who left her job as a university professor earlier this year to stay home with her infant. 'I was always super career-focused, but it started feeling like women were expendable at work, like they weren't really respected anymore.' There wasn't any one thing that led her to quit, she said, but rather a culmination of small changes — including a move for her husband's job, growing pressure to be in the office for long hours and worsening morale because of federal budget cuts. When she had to leave work early a few times to care for her sick baby, it was difficult to coordinate. 'Flexibility feels like a thing of the past,' she said. The pullback comes at a time when the broader labor market is cooling after years of hefty post-pandemic growth. U.S. employers added 106,000 jobs between April and July — less than one-third of jobs added in the same period last year, according to the latest Labor Department data. 'The U.S. is the only advanced economy that's had declining female labor force participation in the last 20 years, and a lot of that is because of lack of social safety net and caregiving supports,' said Kate Bahn, chief economist at the Institute for Women's Policy Research. 'It's a long-term trend that appears to be getting worse.' Although Black women are more likely to be in the workforce than White or Hispanic women, Bahn said they have been disproportionately hit by recent overhauls, including federal government cuts and the dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The labor market has slowed down considerably for all workers, but the unemployment rate for Black women over 20 has risen by nearly an entire percentage point so far this year, to 6.3 percent in July, its highest level in almost four years. After six months of job-searching, Jovanna, who was laid off from her health care copywriting job in early February, is changing course entirely. The mother of two, who is Black and lives in the Midwest, recently enrolled in a 15-week project management certification program in hopes of switching careers. 'I sent out at least 500 applications, worked with three different career coaches, and networked as much as I could,' said Jovanna, who asked to be identified by her middle name only, because she worries about jeopardizing future employment. 'I am depleting my savings and ended up having to borrow against my 401(k), so it got to the point where I had to make a bigger change.' Economists say they worry that the latest labor force departures could indicate a longer term setback for women, especially if they decide to return to work. Historically, breaks in work history have coincided with lower pay and fewer opportunities for advancement, said Heggeness of the University of Kansas. 'There are huge implications for the women themselves,' she said. 'Their lifetime earnings will be lower, they will most likely come back to a job that does not pay the salary they were making when they left. It'll be harder for them to get back in, harder to move up the ladder to senior management positions because they've had this gap in employment.' Emily Santoni left her position as a chief marketing officer at an energy consulting firm in Houston to stay home with her children, ages 1 and 3, this year. It wasn't a decision she made lightly — she and her husband spent months lining up their finances and preparing for the transition. Last year, the couple spent more than $140,000 on a full-time nanny and other child care. It was financially doable, Santoni said, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing out. 'I worked hard, I had a great career, we were both making great money,' the 39-year-old said. 'But I was working so much, there were weeks when I saw my kids for maybe 30 minutes a day. Finally it was like, 'Let's slow this down so I can be a present mother.'' Plus, her workplace was doing away with a policy that allowed parents to work from home two days a week. That wasn't a 'major deciding factor,' Santoni said, 'but it was one more thing that was like, 'Blargh, this sucks.'' Major corporations around the country, including J.P. Morgan, AT&T and Amazon, as well as large swaths of the federal government, have begun mandating that employees clock in to the office five days a week. Although enforcement has been uneven, labor economists say those requirements have added extra strain for many workers, particularly those with young children. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.) Santoni says leaving the workforce has been a refreshing change. She's spending a lot more time with her children, and is also going to more workout classes and happy hours with friends. Although it took a few months to find her rhythm, she's now encouraging other women in her circle to consider stepping back from the labor force. 'My decision to leave my corporate role had nothing to do with politics or a movement telling women to stay home. It had everything to do with what success looks like for me right now,' Santoni said. 'I've worked relentlessly since I was young, and now I choose to give my best energy to my kids while they're little. For moms choosing to leave the workforce for this same reason, it's not weakness or submission — it's power.'
New York Times
30-04-2025
- Health
- New York Times
A Great Leap Forward for American Fathers
I spent the early days of Covid talking to hundreds of American parents of all different backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses and circumstances about how the pandemic affected their lives. While the overall picture was raw and depressing, there was often a glimmer of positivity: Many moms and dads felt lucky to be spending more time with their families. American fathers, who statistically speaking spend less time with their children and work more hours than mothers do, seemed especially smitten with the additional bonding time. An article in Vox about pandemic fathering from June 2020 quoted a Chicago dad: 'Every morning, the kids come in the room and we get to snuggle for five or 10 minutes. Who gets to do that on a Tuesday? That's the stuff I'm kind of clinging to, because that's the stuff you don't get back.' That same month, the Swedish journalist Martin Gelin noticed how much American dads were enjoying themselves and wondered in a guest essay for Times Opinion if these shifts in caregiving might become more permanent, and whether American dads could become more like Nordic ones. Five years later, we have an answer: American dads are still spending more time with their children than they were pre-Covid. We found this out by asking Misty Heggeness, the co-director of the Kansas Population Center at the University of Kansas, to crunch the numbers for us. She and her team at the Care Board, a new dashboard that collects and analyzes data around caregiving in the United States, found that fathers of children ages 10 and under were doing about seven minutes more per weekday and 18 minutes more per weekend day, for a total of 1.2 hours more child care a week. (The year 2020 is excluded from this data set because it was such an outlier.) When you narrow the age range of fathers from 25 to 44, which is roughly the millennial generation, fathers are doing 17 more minutes of care per weekday and 32 more minutes per weekend day, for a total of 2.5 hours more child care a week. If you select for dads who are 25 to 44 and also part of the sandwich generation — that means in addition to having at least one kid under 10, they are also caring for older family members — the pandemic fatherhood effect is even more pronounced. Millennial sandwich generation dads are doing more than seven hours more child care per week than they did 10 years ago. Where is this time coming from? In general, dads are working fewer hours and replacing leisure time with child care, Heggeness noted. They are also multitasking, so while that seven hours seems like a ton, it's probably not the case that they're spending every minute of that time solely focused on their kids. This might look like kids tagging along while parents run errands, dads checking email on the sidelines at a baseball game or fathers tackling the yardwork while their children look for four-leaf clovers. Heggeness & Co. pooled statistics over five-year periods to make the comparison between pre- and post-pandemic fatherhood, so the above charts used data from 2011 to 2015 and then 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023 to show the change over time. When you look at the data broken down by year, there was a big jump in dads performing child care from 2019 to 2021, and that change really stuck. When I saw the data broken down, it made intuitive sense. We have known for a long time, based on data on paternity leave in other countries, that when dads spend more time with their babies, those patterns of care can be sticky. I also wondered if some of the increase in child care was because of the generational change between Generation X and millennials; by the pandemic, the majority of parents of young children were born in the '80s and '90s. Gen X was largely raised by the silent generation, and millennials were raised by post-sexual-revolution boomers, who had more progressive ideas about gender roles. Finally, though many companies and the federal government are clawing back remote and hybrid work, it's possible that the increase in flexible working locations from 2021 to 2023 allowed some dads to spend a few extra hours with their kids around the edges of work. We're in a retrogressive political and cultural moment, when the valorized ideal of the American family involves a woman managing all domestic labor. But that's not the reality that a plurality of American families are living, and it's not what a lot of dads appear to want. They want to be more involved in their children's lives, from surprise morning snuggles to bedtime reading and everything in between. End Notes
