A report from personal finance company WalletHub indicates Georgia ranks in the bottom ten states nationally in terms of best places for working fathers.
Just in time for Father's Day weekend, the report determined the best and worst states for working dads, with Georgia ranking number 43. The rankings were determined by analyzing four key components that had various sub-categories:
1) Economic & Social Well-Being
2) Work-Life Balance
3) Child Care
4) Health
Georgia faired worst in the category of "work-life balance" by ranking 48th nationally, and faired best in the category of "child care" ranking 29th nationally.
According to WalletHub Analyst, Jill Gonzalez,
"Right now costs are pretty good for child care as is the quality in Georgia. But when it comes to the other metrics like work-life balance and Social Well-Being, Georgia could use a boost," she said.
"Right now, about 15 percent of kids under the age of 18, with a dad present, are living in poverty . That is one of the highest numbers we came across."
Gonzalez added that the male uninsured rate in Georgia is the fourth highest in the country with nearly 20 percent of males in the state without health insurance.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the number of working fathers in the Untied States has slowly dipped over the past decade. 93 percent of fathers, with children younger than 18, were employed in 2016 according to the Bureau.
Vice President at The National Partnership for Women & Families, Vicki Shabo, says that she expects to see that number decline further with time.
"The absence of a family friendly workplace support increases work and family conflicts for dads and perpetuates inequities in caregiving responsibilities among opposite-sex couples," Shabo said.
"These challenges are often framed as women’s issues, but dads today are spending more time than dads did in the past caring for their kids, and they are feeling levels of work-life conflict similar to women and want to be doing more at home."
You can see the full WalletHub report on how Georgia stacks up for working fathers.
