Between Ideology and Practice of Child Rearing: Differences Between Men and Women in Two Cultural Contexts

The third wave of feminism declares that the most important mission in becoming a gender-equal society is to encourage men to take a greater part in the family life, and especially, take greater responsibility toward their children's upbringing and education. Some scholars suggest that this revolution has yet to take place because women still guard their traditional roles and refuse to share them with their spouses.

Our study indicates that although women ideologically declare their wishes for a more supportive and active partner and for a more egalitarian division of household labor and child rearing, when these ideas were turned into practice and examined, we found that men define these practices as far less feminine than women. This tendency appears both for secular men and women and for religious men and women. 

Thus, while ideologically, women are more liberal and feminist than men, in practice, they tend to hold a traditional view regarding child rearing daily practices, as they view these practices as feminine.