Fathers ‘Care’ Too: The Impact of Family Relationships on the Experience of Work for Parents of Disabled Children

There is a wealth of literature exploring the impact of parenthood on employment. However, this literature largely overlooks the experiences of parents of children with disabilities, for whom combining the care of their child with employment poses considerable challenges. Within the limited literature on these parents, the focus is on primary carers who are predominantly women. Consequently, the implications for fathers' employment experiences of parenting children with disabilities are largely invisible. Based on research with mothers and fathers this paper argues that being the parent of a child with disabilities impacts significantly on the characteristics of both parents' employment and on their experience of employment. This depends on the nature of parents' roles in care and is reflective of broader patterns of gender relationships within the family. Employment decisions take place within an ongoing parental dialogue that reflects broader conceptualisations of gender relations within the family and in the workplace.