Post-Migration Fatherhood : Immigrants' Experiences of Swedish Gender and Family Norms

Abstract: Sweden is a country known for its gender-equal family policies, which prompt fathers toshare childcare responsibilities with their partners. However, lots of immigrants living inSweden might face cultural clashes, if they come from countries where family norms assignfathers the role of breadwinners and mothers that of homemakers. This thesis therefore aimsat studying the experience of fatherhood in Sweden for immigrants from different culturalbackgrounds. It attempts to understand how they relate to the Swedish state's incentives, howthey navigate between their two cultures, and how their social networks influence theirexperience. The findings are presented in the form of a typology of the forms of fatherhoodthat immigrants can develop in a post-migration context. Three types were identified:Modernized-Traditional fathers, Adaptive fathers and Allowed-To-Be-New fathers. Thisresearch thus contributes to the literature on post-migration parenthood and offers insightsinto immigrants’ realities for professionals and policymakers.