Yet there are three key male minorities who seem to be bucking the trend. Firstly the number of stay-at-home-dads in the UK has doubled to nearly a quarter of a million in the past 20 years and many now supplement their primary carer role with part-time work. Then there’s the small number of part-time male workers in the public sector, where there’s greater support for flexible working and men who work part time are earning more per hour than women on average. Finally there’s the high flyers, the fathers like Mohamed El-Erian, who have reached a level of experience where they can play the system to their own advantage, often working as self-employed freelancers who offer professional services.