Hopes for My Daughter

In celebration of International Women’s Day, we asked a few of our Fathercules to share some of their ‘hopes for my daughter’ – what they hope the future will hold for them and what kind of world they wish for their daughters to grow up and thrive in.

Read their beautiful pieces below <3

Peter Field and Polly:

I hope that the future that my daughter grows up in is one where I am considered an out of touch old fool and that my presumed open minded & liberal views are regarded as conservative and old fashioned to the more progressive generations that have followed.     

I hope that she never feels that a career is out of bounds or that a role is specifically for men. I hope that she never feels intimidated or belittled because of her gender and that all opportunities are offered to her fairly and she is judged on her merits and abilities as a person.

Mostly I hope that all of these thoughts that rush through my mind when I think about my daughter's future don’t occur to her at all, because they will be symptoms of a time she can’t remember. Where I currently see gender equality I hope she will see equality. Where I see a male dominated workspace I hope she sees a workspace. Where I see men and women I hope she just sees people. And I hope she doesn’t register these things as significant because to her they would just seem normal. And I hope she can’t imagine a world where this wasn’t always the way.

Anton Kirczenow and Ada:

My daughter just turned 13. She’s at an outstanding school and has a ton of interests and opportunities available to her from living in a city and the wonders of the internet, like online courses in pretty much anything you can think of.  I hope I can help her realize her full potential, even though she’s probably smarter than me!

Alex Evans and Isla:

Like every parent I’m tempted to say ‘I just want her to be happy & kind’ or something like that, but I also harbour secret thoughts of her eventual world domination. I love the idea of nurturing whatever passions she may have, and I think one of the best ways to do that is for her to meet role models – people who ‘live that dream’. Isla currently says she wants to be an Artist/Paleontologist (who regularly happens to submit designs for Mm’s next game) – so we took her to visit Kareem in his artist’s studio. Kareem being Kareem, he didn’t just show her round – he got out a huge 3m x 2m blank canvas and proceeded to give her an oil painting lesson. She loved every minute – and hopefully she now realises that she can pursue her love of art all the way to a career, if she wants to. Unfortunately I don’t know any paleontologists, but I’m looking…

Anton Mikhailov and Jasmine:

Mostly I hope that global warming doesn’t totally wreck the planet, and my daughter has a safe and pleasant place to live and grow. I hope that she has lots of opportunities to see the world, both manmade and natural, and meet lots of interesting and different people. I hope that she gets treated as fairly as any other person might be, and has a bunch of opportunities to learn and follow her passions.

Eoin Tann and Georgia, Molly and Martha:

The hopes for my girls changes from day to day , from the big challenges to the small.

There are very many inequalities that exist between us men and women and I don't have the answers on how to tackle them, let alone the problems that they will face in life.

But, if I have given them the hope to try and achieve some of the following then maybe... well we will see.

To give them belief that anything is possible.
To show them it is important to consider before acting.
For them to know that they have my support.
To equip them with the ability to cope and meet adversity. 
To remember the past and what it teaches us.
To meet the world head on and not take a backwards step.
And all the while remembering that I am here for them.

If all else fails I'll make them listen to 'Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen'.