Gender roles | Star executive quits to 'prioritise wife's career'

In the business world, there is still significant gender bias with regards to working parents.

2019 research conducted by Dove Men+Care revealed that UK fathers were increasingly keen to play an active role in their children’s early years, with 93% of those polled saying they would do anything to be involved during the first weeks. Yet just 44% of fathers in the UK took the full two weeks of paternity leave and 16% took no time off at all.

It's evident from these statistics that despite the progressive stances of so-called ‘modern’ companies, a massive stigma still stands in the way of both women taking the role of primary earner, and men taking the role of primary caregiver.

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However, some business leaders are fighting this bias. This week, Rubin Ritter, who has been Co-Chief Executive of Europe’s biggest online clothing retailer Zalando since 2010, announced plans to step down from his role, noting that his wife's "professional ambitions should take priority", the BBC reported.