Globalization, migration, individualization, pluralization and demographic ageing profoundly influence family life, work and the relationship between these important life domains.

Moreover the constant changes taking place in today's context on many fronts (economic, social, political) place people in a position of having to constantly negotiate and renegotiate their life choices. In this context, life transitions become challenging for families.

The present symposium will focus on the family care – work balance in life transitions, considering transformations in men and woman identity, in motherhood and fatherhood, and the role of parents and grandparents as care-givers not only with regard to small children, but also adolescents; particular attention will also be devoted to the challenge facing today families, companies and care services on the care of elderly and dependents family members in a context in which people are involved on different fronts (family, work, care) and family networks are increasingly reduced from a dimensional point of view. Exploring the links between societal, family and individual change with a comparative perspective is relevant and especially welcome.

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In recent years, fathers have become more visible in the parenting landscape and research indicates that fathers engage in a wider range of activities than in the past. However, as it is well-known, Italy is characterized by the persistence of gender gap.

This presentation analyzes the family and work balance model and the paternal role of Italian families with children 0-13 years, with a focus on fathers, using data from “Multipurpose survey on households: aspects of daily life” 2012, a national survey carried out by ISTAT, with both mothers and fathers interviewed. The Multipurpose Surveys on Households is carried out by the National Institute of Statistics on a national representative sample of private households. The sample of Italian families with children aged 0-13 counts 3.745 families. The research question are: how families differ according to job patterns and care/domestic activities?; which family model is emerging in Italy ?; how are contemporary Italian fathers handling their work-life balance? Through cluster analysis 5 different groups can be highlighted, heterogeneous for family structure, employment, housework, use of child-care services and leave: 1. Dual earner couples ( 43,2%); 2. Non-working fathers (both partners unemployed; 11,0%); 3. Male breadwinner/housewife model (34,2%); 4. Single fathers (1.4%) and 5. Single mothers (10,2%). The carried out analysis seem to confirm the male breadwinner model, particularly in families where only one partner is employed (the father), while the mother is homemaker and takes all the domestic work. Divorced families with single parents emerge also as a relevant issue.

To what extent does Malta’s working time regime support a change in family relations? How much do state policies assume that men and women both need time to care, as well as for paid work? Does Malta’s full-time paid work structure allow time for the equal sharing of unpaid care responsibilities between women and men, that in turn enhances gender equity in the workplace and domestic sphere? Themes that emerge in the study rest largely on women’s voices. The study finds that women need to shift their full-time economic activity to shorter and flexible working hours when they become mothers, with negative consequences of loss in income and career regression. Labour market exit and financial dependence on men is also a frequent occurrence. Findings in the study suggest that strong pressure to assume traditional roles of the male breadwinner model is embedded not only in Maltese culture and social norms, but also in the state’s own social policy.