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Calls for early years to help redress gender inequality

Ofsted could help boost gender equality by rating settings on how they engage with fathers, campaigners claim.

The calls come as figures released ahead of Father’s Day reveal British men spend less time caring for their children relative to their female partners than anywhere in the developed world.

The Fairness in Families Index (FIFI) published this week by the Fatherhood Institute, suggest for every hour British women spend with their offspring, their male counterparts spend just 24 minutes.

The UK came bottom of 15 countries studied, compared to Portuguese dads who spend 39 minutes with their kids.

Fatherhood Institute chairman Will McDonald said the UK figures were not a mark of chauvinism because new fathers nowadays are ‘strongly pro gender equality and want to play a substantial role in caring for their young children’.

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