Equal Parenting Week Launch Event

We’re excited to kick off the first ever Equal Parenting Week with a special launch event, and everyone’s invited to join us online.

We’re excited to kick off the first ever Equal Parenting Week with a special launch event, and everyone’s invited to join us online.

Hosted by Parenting Out Loud, this event marks the start of a national week celebrating progress, sparking new conversations and driving action on equal parenting - for mums, dads, co-parents, carers and anyone who cares about sharing care more fairly.

The in-person event is invite-only, but free online tickets are available, so parents, employers and allies across the UK can be part of it.

Together, we’ll explore how equal parenting can change the world and why it matters for gender equality, family wellbeing and workplace culture. You’ll hear powerful real-life stories from parents who are challenging stereotypes and Parenting Out Loud, alongside insights from organisations and leaders who are building cultures that support shared care in practice.

Expect:

• bold ideas and fresh perspectives on equal parenting
• practical actions for employers, policymakers and families
• powerful storytelling that makes care visible
• a collective call to action for change at home and at work

Because when care is shared, everyone benefits.

What is Equal Parenting Week?

Equal Parenting Week is a new annual national awareness and action campaign led by Parenting Out Loud, designed to challenge traditional gender roles in caregiving and champion a more balanced, inclusive approach to parenting at home and in the workplace.

Equal Parenting Week comes at a moment when more families want to share care fairly, but too many workplaces and policies still make that harder than it needs to be.

The week will see a launch event, along with a series of Parenting Out Loud led webinars. We will also support employers and staff networks to run their own events and initiatives. This will all be supported by new research and a national media campaign to promote equal parenting.

We are calling on the government to increase paternity leave to 6 weeks paid at 90% of salary, in line with the Fatherhood Institute’s #6weeksForDads campaign. And we are supporting employers to publish their parental leave policies, advertise all jobs as flexible from day one and establish a dads community with senior sponsorship.

Equal Parenting Week is for everyone. Not just married, heterosexual couples, but co-parents, separated families, same-sex parents and all family set-ups. Care doesn’t follow one model and neither should support.

Download our Employer resource pack to start planning your involvement.

The inaugural Equal Parenting Week will take place from Monday 27 April - Sunday 3 May 2026.

About Parenting Out Loud

Parenting Out Loud is a workplace culture change programme that supports dads to be loud and proud about their caring responsibilities at work so they can be equal parents at home.

Parenting Out Loud is when dads openly work flexibly for childcare reasons. It’s dads taking the full parental leave available. It’s dads including their school pick-up and drop-off in their open calendar. It’s dads joining the staff parenting network and sharing their story. It’s dads leaving loudly at 3pm to do the school pick-up rather than leaving quietly through the back door.

Encouraging, supporting and enabling dads to Parent Out Loud and be equal parents is essential to addressing the motherhood penalty, improving parental mental health and supporting child development.

We help build Parenting Out Loud workplace cultures through our programmes and workshops, we empower dads to Parent Out Loud through peer support activities and we advocate for working dads through our annual Working Dads’ Summit and Equal Parenting Week.