The Impact of Fathering Daughters on Men’s Gender Equality Preferences

I really appreciated a recent scholarly article, “The First Daughter Effect: The Impact of Fathering Daughters on Men’s Preferences for Gender Equality Policies,” published by Elizabeth A. Sharrow, Jesse H. Rhodes, Tatishe M. Nteta, and Jill S. Greenlee (2018, October 17) in the Public Opinion Quarterly. I have done extensive research on the upbringings and family experiences of women leaders, so this article caught my eye. Interestingly, it takes a different twist than my research; it looks at how fathering daughters influenced men—particularly how the fathers’ experiences may change their perspectives of gender-equality policies.

Background

These scholars decided to research three fathering scenarios that could explain what might change a man’s view of policies related to gender equality. First, do men who father daughters in general (doesn’t matter the birth order) express more support for sex equity policies? Second, if daughters make up more of the total number of children in a family (proportion), will the father express greater support? And, third, do men who have a daughter as the first-born child support sex equity policies more than those who have first-born sons. What do you think?

Sharrow et al. (2018) mined survey data from the 2016 Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES) to see if they could answer these questions. This online survey was taken by more than 64,600 American adults on YouGov on behalf of over 50 colleges and universities, and the data module used had about 1,500 respondents (see more details in Sharrow et al).

Results

The results of Sharrow et al.’s research suggests that men’s support for gender equality policies increased after the men experienced raising a daughter as a first child. The first child is key to this research, as the father’s support for these policies did not increase if they had a daughter generally (not first born) or if the men had more daughters than sons (higher proportion). To me this is incredibly interesting and important as we think about helping more men become allies and advocates for women in organizational settings and in society at large. Could those who have daughters as the oldest child be more open to learning, understanding, and implementing gender equality policies? And, what can we do to help fathers of daughters (or sons) more generally to become male allies and advocates?

The researchers also found that mothers consistently expressed more support for gender equality policies than did fathers. And, interestingly, according to the authors, “Parents at the highest income levels and who identify as Republicans are significantly more likely to oppose equity policies.” Wow! We’ve really got to figure out how to move the needle with Republicans on gender issues. Sharrow et al. also found that there was a significant link between parental support for gender equity policies and the fathers’ levels of hostile sexism and gender equality attitudes (no surprise there).

Concluding Thoughts

I see interesting applications in this research. As we know, the ways we are raised form the foundation of our values, beliefs, and unconscious biases. Sharrow et al. offer one more piece of the puzzle in terms of understanding the influence of one’s upbringing on social policy and leadership facilitation; they show that the positive influence of parents on their daughters can shape the ways girls and women see themselves as influencers and leaders. It seems to me that if men become more supportive of political and governmental policies related to gender equity after having a first-born daughter, they may also be more prone to support and initiate favorable workplace policies and initiatives. I believe that parents who support gender equity policies are more likely to raise daughters who aspire to become leaders.

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Dr. Susan R. Madsen is a global thought leader, author, speaker, and scholar on the topic of women and leadership. She is also the Orin R. Woodbury Professor of Leadership and Ethics in the Woodbury School of Business at Utah Valley University and the Founder of the Utah Women & Leadership Project. Learn more about her speaking, consulting, and global efforts at http://madsengloballeadership.com/.