ABSTRACT This article explores how working fathers are conceptualised within the UK’s work-family law and policy framework and whether a dominant ideology of fatherhood can be discerned. The socio-legal literature on men and masculinities is considered alongside established feminist theory on families, paid work and unpaid care to provide a backdrop to the analysis of current policy provision in this area. Three ‘ideal’ type ideologies of fatherhood are identified (‘absent’, ‘involved’ and ‘active’) which are used to critically examine the current legal framework. Despite claims to the contrary, the current framework supports and reaffirms the gendering of care so that the intransigence on the part of men and women to rebalance related responsibilities is unsurprising. The authors argue for a more care-centric approach to work-family policy in place of gender-specific normative modelling. A legal framework which enabled and encouraged all care providers to participate regardless of gender and biological relationship would not only improve the workplace experiences of women, but also enable men to develop and fulfil their care-giving aspirations and potential.

中文翻译：

---

父亲作为英国法律和政策的照料者：占主导地位的意识形态和生活经验

摘要 本文探讨了在英国的工作-家庭法律和政策框架内如何将职业父亲概念化，以及是否可以辨别出占主导地位的父亲意识形态。关于男性和男子气概的社会法律文献与关于家庭、有偿工作和无偿照料的既定女权主义理论一起被考虑，以提供分析该领域当前政策规定的背景。确定了三种“理想”类型的父亲意识形态（“缺席”、“参与”和“积极”），用于批判性地审查当前的法律框架。尽管有相反的说法，但当前的框架支持并重申照料的性别化，因此男性和女性在重新平衡相关责任方面的顽固态度不足为奇。作者主张采用一种更加以关怀为中心的工作家庭政策方法，而不是针对特定性别的规范建模。一个允许和鼓励所有护理提供者不分性别和生物学关系参与的法律框架不仅可以改善女性的工作体验，还可以使男性发展和实现他们的护理愿望和潜力。