From breadwinner to stay-at-home dad

A bit of news about switching gender roles has been making the rounds in United States (US) media — women are outnumbering men in the workforce, and stay-at-home dads are becoming an economic trend.

A report in
Fortune showed that as of early 2026, women held more payroll jobs than men in the US, an occurrence that has only happened briefly during the Great Recession and again just before COVID. And while this happens, men are taking on the traditional women’s roles in their households.

It has got people talking about roles and responsibilities, and the changing face of manhood and masculinity.

“Before these current trends, if a family adopted this kind of structure, many people would have an opinion about it,” explained counsellor David Anderson. “But now we’re seeing that things we once viewed as ‘strange’ are quite normal for other people in other cultures. For example, you’d probably have a community where just one or two guys were at home with the children while the mothers worked, but now everybody’s eyes are opening when they see this being quite the norm on social media, and suddenly, the stay-at-home dad, the single dad, the metrosexual dad, the dad who cooks and cleans and shares his daily routine, is as normal as the mom who does the same.”

The Smiths from St Catherine have been living this way for over three years. For dad Paul, it made more sense, after he got laid off from his job during COVID, and his health care worker wife was the only one with a steady income. Soon they decided that they would let go of their household help, and Paul would stay home full-time with their young children.

“At first it felt emasculating, especially since every other man in our community went to work, and the only men who were home were the idlers. But after
Tik Tok became huge and people started watching male content creators doing the same thing, they started respecting me,” Paul shared.

He said now, the women in the community ask him everything from advice about which detergents to buy, to which wholesale to shop, and he gladly helps as his family is now viewed as one who has things figured out.

For Janice, his wife, what has been important is ensuring that Paul still remains head of the house in words and in action, and is treated as such.

Anderson said many men who would want to have this arrangement are still afraid because of the stigma attached to being perceived as a “maama man”, and even some women’s tendency to look down on men who stay home.

“In the Caribbean, house and care services are still regarded as women’s roles, so it will take some time, but we’re getting there,” he said.

But gender professional Carlissa Farquharson has a problem with men who choose this role, not carrying the full weight of their responsibilities in the way women would.

“Some of them really just want to live easy and want to be kept men,” she said. “Some will never lift a finger to do housework, or to cook, and will wait for their partners to finish eight-hour workdays and come home to make dinner, or to do homework, or to get the kids to bed.”

She said while some people may see this development as positive, for many couples, all it means is men wanting to be kings, wanting to be taken care of, and wanting to sponge off women’s work.

“Men are conditioned to work,” agreed Leon B, who stayed home for a year after he lost his job, but reverted to the workforce last year.

“My wife made the money during that time and I was cool with that, but it’s in our nature to be providers,” he said. “Men need to work, and not sit at home on the PlayStation while our wives earn. It goes against the very nature of things.”