Millennial Men Taking on Parental Leave, and More – Toronto News
Toronto’s finest business schools have been contributing to social, political, and scientific advances this week. We’ve laid out the highlights below.
How Testosterone May Be Influencing Men’s Purchasing Decisions – The Globe and Mail
Nature Communications recently published research from Western University Canada’s Ivey Business School that explored the relationship between testosterone levels and luxury brand purchases in men. The study finds that levels of the hormone, typically associated with sex drive and masculine features, could play a role in predicting shopping choices.
The study involved 243 men between the ages of 18 and 55, divided into two groups. The men in one group were given doses of testosterone, and those in the other group received a placebo. Those with higher levels of testosterone were more likely to purchase high-end brands than those with lower levels of the hormone. Researchers posited that this is due to an evolutionary drive to demonstrate high social status, and therefore a high mate value.
According to the study, testosterone, “elevates men’s desire to promote their social status through economic consumption.”
You can read more about the study here.
How Millennial Men Can Champion Workplace Equality – Forbes
Though, externally, it seems society has made remarkable strides toward gender equality, subconscious bias is more difficult to measure. Harvard’s Project Implicit study, however, attempts to gain data about implicit gender bias. Nearly 80 percent of participants were more comfortable associating men with the work and public spheres and women with the domestic spheres than vice versa.
According to the research, working mothers tend to be faced with skepticism surrounding their commitment and ability to do their jobs when they return from parental leave. However, millennial fathers, may have the chance to help alter this perspective. In her Forbes article, Mary Beth Ferrante sites the work of Erin Reid, Associate Professor at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business. Her work explains the concept of breadsharers, or, “husbands who value enabling each partner to pursue their work and family goals.”
Erin Reid, Associate Professor at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business, notes that the more millennial men take parental leave, the more normalized the practice becomes / Photo via gsb.stanford.edu
Milliennial fathers are more open to breadsharing, and could thus influence the way new mothers are seen in the workplace. Ferrante insists that it is essential for men to take their full parental leave in order to challenge implicit bias surrounding the roles of men and women in the workplace and at home.
You can read Ferrante’s full piece on millennial men influencing parental leave here.
What is the Most Democratic and Effective Way to Govern a City the Size and Economic Import of Toronto? – The Globe and Mail
Richard Florida, professor at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities and Rotman School of Management, and Alan Broadbent, Chair of Avana Capital and Maytree, recently co-authored an article for The Globe and Mail that explores Toronto’s future in the wake of Doug Ford’s announcement that he plans to drastically reduce the size of Toronto’s city council.
With different parties vying for a say in how Toronto ought be governed moving forward, the co-authors insisted that, “The province and the country as a whole can’t afford to have an economic entity of this size and economic importance kicked around like a proverbial political football.” Florida and Broadbent advocate for finding a system that would empower the city rather than dividing it.
The two say:
“We need to create a new governance system that enables Toronto to truly govern itself, act on its strengths and address its many problems and challenges. The future prosperity of our city, province and nation depends on it. It’s an issue that must be front and centre in this mayor’s race and beyond.”
You can read more about Toronto’s economic future here.
