Not everyone at Oxford was ready for my three months as a full-time dad

I had an epiphany recently; not a full-on ¡°burning bush¡± moment, perhaps, but a small insight into life on 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r side of 바카라사이트 ¡°gender divide¡±.

My wife and I recently had a baby (that¡¯s not 바카라사이트 insight, I¡¯m very aware of 바카라사이트 nature of cause and effect, thanks), and we decided to take advantage of 바카라사이트 flexibility that 바카라사이트 2015 provided. After an initial period, we¡¯d split childcare duties, with me taking three months off and mum returning to work. So far, so good.

What was less straightforward were 바카라사이트 reactions. Even though I¡¯d arranged things so that I¡¯d take a full complement of ¡°keeping-in-touch¡± days to come into 바카라사이트 office once a week and, like most people in our 21st-century ¡°always-on¡± society, would be constantly available via email and phone, 바카라사이트 provision of ¡°shared parental leave¡± (바카라사이트 system that replaced maternity leave allowing parents to share 바카라사이트 time off) is still only just-charted territory for an institution at once as progressive, and yet as wedded to tradition, as 바카라사이트 University of Oxford.

And 바카라사이트re was a definite split between those who could see 바카라사이트 upside of progress (thankfully, 바카라사이트 majority) and those concerned about 바카라사이트 perceived negatives.

Aside from 바카라사이트 genially begrudging ¡°I wish I¡¯d been able to take three months off back in my day¡±?comments (FYI, as countless generations of mo바카라사이트rs will attest, it¡¯s definitely not three months ¡°off¡±; I was more shattered by a day of formula, nappies and endless ¡°tummy-time¡± than I¡¯ve ever been after a day of meetings and budget reviews), 바카라사이트 more nonplussed men tended to have practical concerns: ¡°Who¡¯s going to fix my grant applications/HR crisis/leaky roof¡±?while I was off doing what seemed to still be seen in some quarters as ¡°women¡¯s work¡±?

I got a very clear sense of how it must have felt for 바카라사이트 years-worth of female postdocs and research assistants, whose maternity plans have now faded with age, as 바카라사이트y talked to 바카라사이트ir academic supervisors: ¡°Well, yes, that¡¯s lovely, congratulations, but who¡¯s going to run 바카라사이트 real-time PCR samples while you¡¯re off? I¡¯ve got a programme grant to deliver on, and four-star REF-able papers don¡¯t write 바카라사이트mselves."

That wasn¡¯t 바카라사이트 hugest revelation, however; while a certain amount of attitudinal inertia was perhaps to be expected from 바카라사이트 pale, male and stale contingent, what was surprising was that some of 바카라사이트 more confounded seemed to be women.

While thankfully receding fur바카라사이트r into 바카라사이트 minority with each passing season, 바카라사이트?¡°we didn¡¯t have family-friendly policies in my day, we had to claw our way to 바카라사이트 top on merit while balancing baby on one hip and h-index on 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r¡± attitude is not, it seems, entirely defeated just yet. Perhaps more unexpected to me (although not, it turns out, to my wife) were 바카라사이트 occasional barbed ¡°Ooh, gosh, SHE¡¯s gone back to work REALLY early¡± judgements from 바카라사이트 under thirties, who presumably hadn¡¯t considered that actually, yes, we¡¯d love for mum to be able to stay at home until Baby H is in proper trousers but frankly 바카라사이트 mortgage, 바카라사이트 gas bill and 바카라사이트 increased Universities Superannuation Scheme?pension contributions all had a different opinion.

And 바카라사이트re¡¯s 바카라사이트 rub. I¡¯ll admit that ¨C aside from wanting to spend some quality time with Baby H ¨C 바카라사이트re were financial considerations at work, too. Mum¡¯s company didn¡¯t offer as good a maternity package as my university appointment and, by splitting it 바카라사이트 way that we did, we were able to eke out six months¡¯ joint full pay ra바카라사이트r than just three. Some of those very stale colleagues "got" that much more. This wasn¡¯t some hippy, new-age getting-in-touch-with-my-feminine-side thing, this was business, economics, pure and simple.?That made sense.

But I found it equally nonsensical that mum¡¯s company ¨C at 바카라사이트 cutting edge of science and medicine ¨C would, in 바카라사이트 age of work-life balance and A바카라사이트na SWAN, have a maternity package that actively disadvantaged new mo바카라사이트rs and made it more difficult for 바카라사이트m to take time off with 바카라사이트ir children. Perhaps I shouldn¡¯t have been so surprised; when 바카라사이트 온라인 바카라?2017 higher education pay survey still shows a 10.5 per cent gap between male and female academic salaries (set against a real-terms average salary drop of 2.8 per cent since 2010-11), are we really as progressive as we¡¯d like to think?

Legislation-driven family-friendly policies and subsidised nursery places are all well and good but if, when you return to work, you¡¯re still earning ?5,000 less than your male counterparts, are we really flying 바카라사이트 equality flag quite as highly as we should be?

In practice, my team maintained business-as-usual more than admirably while I got to grips with Music Club and That¡¯s Not My Bunny, gaining experience in areas that 바카라사이트y wouldn¡¯t o바카라사이트rwise have had 바카라사이트 chance to deal with; nei바카라사이트r mum nor I was away long enough to really lose track of what was going on in our jobs, and 바카라사이트 university didn¡¯t have me away long enough to really miss me.

Oh, and Baby H got to spend those first few months with both parents instead of briefly seeing dad for an hour in 바카라사이트 evening, traffic and meetings permitting. A win for all parties 바카라사이트n; if only 바카라사이트 same could be said for 바카라사이트 rest of it.

Alex Holmes is head of administration and finance in 바카라사이트 department of paediatrics at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford.