Considerable media and public policy attention have been devoted to the challenges of single motherhood but much less to the challenges of single fatherhood in America. That’s because there are far more women (9.8 million) than men (4.7 million) who are sole providers for their offspring.
Because their numbers are relatively small, single male-led households with children are not a highly visible demographic in the United States. Like 90 percent of a freshwater iceberg submerged beneath the water line, single fatherhood is an iceberg demographic: Living arrangements typically are not obvious or transparent in routine interactions, especially in employment screenings and work environments.
Now more than ever, given ongoing economic turbulence and uncertainty, workforce policies and workplace accommodation are needed to help single fathers manage their dual – and often conflicting – roles as breadwinners and caretakers. In many ways, single fathers’ challenges are similar, but in other ways different from the challenges that their female counterparts face.
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