Written with guest co-author, Chris Hook, Associate Director of Business Development, Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice
We have strong reasons to appreciate today’s fathers. A new national poll published last week by Global Strategy Group surveyed 1,000 male registered U.S. voters on behalf of Paid Leave for All, Caring Across Generations, and Community Change. The key finding? Men’s top priority was caring for their family by providing, protecting, and “being strong” for them. This is an important step toward a caring masculinity where men value interdependence and relationships.
According to the poll, providing for their family (65% said it was extremely important) and supporting their family emotionally and financially (58%) were even more important to them than being recognized for their hard work and sacrifices (32%), advancing their careers (33%), or being respected by others (36%).
We have a long history of women carrying the majority of household and caregiving responsibilities at home. Over the last couple of decades, men have been increasingly called to step up as allies to women by alleviating their caregiving burden and supporting their well-being. Research shows that Millennial and Gen Z dads have been listening and stepping up like never before, doing almost 3 times the amount of caregiving work compared to previous generations of men.
Why are more fathers stepping up today? Caregiving and supporting their family at home gives men a sense of purpose and hope. According to the new State of American Men 2025 report by Equimundo, fathers are 30% more likely to feel a sense of purpose than men without children. A 2022 Equimundo report, Helping Dads Care, found that fathers are stepping up despite an environment where societal expectations and a lack of support hold them back.
Families function better when all their members are doing well. Based on my team’s years of research, we believe allyship and well-being often do, and must go hand-in-hand. When men step up as allies, whether at home or in the workplace, it boosts their personal growth and enriches their relationships. But if, for any reason, allies are not doing well, it hurts us all. Because caring fathers actively share in household responsibilities and are deeply involved in their children’s lives, their stress is more likely to ripple through the family, than fathers and husbands who are emotionally disconnected. If allies are not experiencing well-being, it also makes the allyship relationship unsustainable. The priority shifts to putting one’s own “oxygen mask on” before helping others.
That’s why the ideal of allyship is a partnership where everyone’s well-being is valued and actively pursued. So, while families are benefitting from fathers increasingly stepping up, it behooves us to also ask, “How are the men doing?”
It turns out that men are not doing as well as we might have hoped.
According to the State of American Men 2025 study by Equimundo, 75% of men report that it is much harder for their generation than their father’s generation to feel financially secure. Because men view economic security as fundamental to being a good provider for their family, economic anxiety depletes their sense of meaning and purpose. Men who faced financial instability were 16.3 times more likely to have suicidal ideation in the two weeks prior to taking the survey (compared to 7.3 times for women), with the link being strongest for Asian and Black men.
Fathers who experienced financial stress were twice as likely to report that they didn’t have enough time for caregiving. 61% of fathers said that struggling to balance their job and care responsibilities was the key reason for not having enough time for caregiving. Financial stress is hurting men’s ability to be better allies, spouses, fathers, and caregivers.
So, what can we do to support men’s and fathers’ well-being?
One approach might be to support men’s health, parental leave, and economic security policies at the federal and state levels. The Global Strategy Group’s national poll with U.S. voters from last week shows that this has near-universal support. Men from all walks of life, including democrats (96%+), independents (90%+), and republicans (87%+), and especially dads (95%+), overwhelmingly support care policies such as affordable childcare, paid leave, and affordable long-term care for aging and disabled family members. These policies would also empower men to be the kinds of allies, husbands, and fathers that they and their families value.
We can also continue to normalize men taking on caregiving and household responsibilities in ways that make sense for their families. Let’s tell nuanced stories in the media and social media of men’s caregiving that acknowledge how men are stepping up day after day. Let’s put the tired tropes of “deadbeat dads” behind us because it doesn’t match the reality of what many men and fathers are doing on a day-to-day basis. And those tropes divide us rather than unite.
It’s time to celebrate how today’s fathers are stepping up, the challenges they’re facing, and the healthy parental and spousal ideals they’re aspiring toward.
