Blake Woodward is a dad, management consultant and founder of Suit Tie Stroller – a website supporting corporate dads in finding work life balance while raising a family, as well as advocating for gender-equal parental leave and support policies. Blake took extensive parental leave for each of his two kids to be the primary carer and is currently on parental leave with his 1 year old daughter. These experiences had a profound impact on Blake’s view of his role as a dad and an employee, and transformed his views of the need to empower working parents to choose the best way to raise their families through gender neutral workplace policies.
Suit Tie Stroller recently conducted a Global Dad Survey to understand the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on fathers across the world. In The Parents At Work Podcast, we talk to Blake about the research findings and what the future might look like for fathers in a post-COVID world.
The COVID-19 restrictions have seen fathers take on flexible working, and therefore spend more time with their families and children. The research report found that only 3% of dads want to return to the way things were before COVID-19, and 2 out of 3 dads want to spend more time with their kids in the ‘new normal’.
In the podcast, Blake says he wants fathers to ask themselves; “what was your old family unit structure like and why was it like that? Was it simply because social norms dictated that’s what dads are meant to do, or was it because you’ve sat down and purposely talked about what is the right thing for your family?”
Blake says “I hope dads are encouraged to think about the future and feel empowered that they can make these life decisions for their ideal family structure and for their family and work balance in the future.”
You can download the full Global Dad Survey here.Parents At Work · Has COVID-19 changed Fatherhood? – A conversation with Blake Woodward
