When Statues Become Fathers: Creative Street Art on Equal Parenting

What happens when male statues become fathers for a day? A creative campaign in Sweden is challenging traditional norms about parenting roles.

Imagine a bronze statue of a stoic leader, now wearing a bright pink baby sling with a doll nestled inside. On International Men’s Day, November 19th, male statues across Sweden were adorned with baby slings and carriers as part of a unique campaign to spotlight unequal parenting responsibilities.

Traditionally representing power, labor, or other masculine attributes, these statues were reimagined to symbolize fathers as caregivers. The campaign, organized by the think tank Arena Idé, is part of the #kvantitetstidspappan initiative, aimed at encouraging fathers to spend more time with their children and urging employers to play a larger role in enabling this.

A historical statue of a man, symbolizing leadership and authority, is humorously adorned with a white baby sling carrying a doll. This creative intervention is part of a campaign by Arena Idé, highlighting the unequal division of parental responsibilities in Sweden. It calls attention to the underrepresentation of fathers in caregiving roles, despite progressive parental leave policies. The statue, set against a backdrop of urban architecture and autumn leaves, represents the campaign's goal to challenge societal norms and advocate for shared parenting responsibilities.

Despite Sweden’s globally recognized parental leave policies, significant disparities remain. Swedish fathers take only 30.9% of parental leave days and 38% of sick leave to care for children.

A recent Novus survey, conducted in collaboration with Make Equal, further reveals that expectations around parental leave remain unequal in Swedish workplaces. Through this campaign, Arena Idé hopes to challenge these norms and has proposed an employer bonus for workplaces that encourage an equal division of parental leave.

The statues involved in the campaign—such as Standing Man in Umeå, Det svenska tungsinnet in Malmö, and Hjalmar Branting in Stockholm—were decorated with dolls in baby slings and carriers.

A statue of a man standing in a snowy urban plaza is wrapped with a yellow baby sling holding a doll wearing a pink hat. This is part of a campaign by Arena Idé for International Men’s Day, aimed at addressing unequal parental roles in Sweden. The use of the baby sling symbolizes fatherhood and caregiving, highlighting the need for greater participation of fathers in childcare and challenging societal norms about gender roles. The surrounding area features benches, shops, and evening lighting, emphasizing the public and thought-provoking nature of the campaign.

This created a contrast between the statues’ traditional symbolism and the modern role of engaged fathers.

The initiative draws inspiration from the UK-based group The Dad Shift, which earlier this year launched a similar campaign highlighting gaps in Britain’s parental leave policies.

Vilgot Österlund, a statistician at Arena Idé, emphasizes the importance of changing workplace norms: “When discussing gender equality in workplaces, the focus is often on women and the negative consequences of inequality for them. But here, we see that men are also losing out on something invaluable—time with their children. Through the statue campaign, the new statistics, and our proposals, we hope to make this clearer!”